African World Cup 2026 qualifiers draw results in surprising encounters

ABU DHABI, 13th July, 2023 (WAM) — The Confederation of African Football has conducted its draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Winners of each of the nine groups will automatically qualify for the World Cup 2026. The four best runners-up will play in a CAF Play-Off tournament. The winner of the CAF Play-Off Tournament will play in the FIFA Play-off Tournament.

The nine groups run as follows:

Group A

-Egypt
-Burkina Faso
-Guinea-Bissau
-Sierra Leone
-Ethiopia
-Djibouti

Group B

-Senegal
-DR Congo
-Mauritania
-Togo
-Sudan
-South Sudan

Group C

-Nigeria
-South Africa
-Benin
-Zimbabwe
-Rwanda
-Lesotho

Group D

-Cameroon
-Cape-Verde
-Angola
-Libya
-Eswatini
-Mauritius

Group E

-Morocco
-Zambia
-Congo
-Tanzania
-Niger
-Eritrea

Group F

-Cote d’Ivoire
-Gabon
-Kenya
-Gambia
-Burundi
-Seychelles

Group G

-Algeria
-Guinea
-Uganda
-Mozambique
-Botswana
-Somalia

Group H

-Tunisia
-Equatorial Guinea
-Namibia
-Malawi
-Liberia
-Sao Tome and Principe

Group I

-Mali
-Ghana
-Madagascar
-Central African Republic
-Comoros
-Chad

Each group winner will qualify automatically and the best four runners-up enter play-offs with the winner going to inter-confederation play-offs, with two places up for grabs. The confederation play-offs will include two teams from North/Central America and one each from Asia, South America and Oceania.

Matches will start in November, with a further two rounds next year and six in 2025.