2026 WCQ: Nine African tickets up for grabs as qualifiers reach climax

Oore-Oluwa Emmanuel

The FIFA  international window is still opened and most national teams will be on duty, Africa is also not left out in the process  as they will be jostling for World Cup tickets.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Canada, México, and the United States marking the first time three nations will jointly host the tournament.

A major change for this edition is the expansion from a 32- team format to a 48- team format.

2026 World Cup is scheduled to kick off on June 11, 2026. The qualification series makes it the first time ( CAF) would have the opportunity to present 9 teams as against the previous 5.

The winner of each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the four best group runners-up will participate in the African playoffs, while the winner will  progress to the world playoffs.

Groups stage standings and likely teams to qualify

Group A
Egypt 19pts
Burkina Faso 14pts
Sierra Leone 9pts
Guinea-Bissau 7pts
Ethiopia 6pts
Djibouti 1pts

Egypt looks like the better team to qualify currently with 5pts above Burkina Faso.

Group B
DR Congo 16pts
Senegal 15pts
Sudan 12pts
Mauritania 5pts
Togo 4pts
South Sudan 3pts

DR Congo looks like the team to qualify even though they are one point above Senegal currently.

Group C
South Africa 16pts
Benin 11pts
Nigeria 10pts
Rwanda 8pts
Lesotho 6pts
Zimbabwe 4pts

South Africa looks like the team to qualify with five points currently above second place Benin.

Group D
Cape Verde 16pts
Cameroon 15pts
Libya 11pts
Angola 7pts
Mauritius 5pts
Eswatini 2pts

Cape Verde is likely to qualify with one point currently above Cameroon.

Group E
Morocco 18pts
Tanzania 10pts
Zambia 6pts
Niger 6pts
Congo Republic 0pts

Morocco is likely to qualify, topping the group with five wins, no draw or loss.

Group F
Ivory Coast 19pts
Gabon 18pts
Burundi 10pts
Gambia 7pts
Kenya 6pts
Seychelles 0pts

Ivory Coast is likely to qualify with a point above Gabon currently.

Group G
Algeria 18pts
Uganda 12pts
Mozambique 12pts
Guinea 10pts
Botswana 9pts
Somalia 1pts

Algeria is likely to qualify with Six points above Uganda currently.

Group H
Tunisia 19pts
Namibia 12pts
Liberia 10pts
Equatorial Guinea 10pts
Malawi 9pts
São Tomé and Principe 0pts

Tunisia is likely to qualify with seven points above Namibia currently.

Group I
Ghana 16pts
Comoros 15pts
Madagascar 13pts
Mali 12pts
Central African Republic 5pts
Chad 1pts

Ghana is likely to qualify with one point above Comoros currently.

Also second place from each group will advance to the play offs round to have a spot in the World Cup tournament.