A few hours after the 45th CAF General Assembly ended which had in attendance the CAF president Patrice Motsepe and FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, the official draws for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers were made in Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire on Thursday.
In attendance were other dignitaries from the African landscape, legends of African football, the likes of Nigeria's Austin ‘Jay-Jay' Okocha, Ghana's Asamoah Gyan, Cameroon's Alex Song, Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor and a few others.
These legends assisted in making the draw.
See you in November 🤝#WCQ | #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/XBrQPbuGc6
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU23 🏆 (@CAF_Online) July 13, 2023
The qualifiers will officially start in November and will see all 54 African countries battle for the nine guaranteed slots allocated to Africa from nine groups of six teams each.
The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
9️⃣ Groups.
5️⃣4️⃣ Teams.All set for the FIFA World Cup 2026 ™️ Preliminary stage – CAF! 🏃♂️#WCQ | #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/6FbARwatmx
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU23 🏆 (@CAF_Online) July 13, 2023
Meanwhile, the four best runners-up from the groups will play in a CAF play-off tournament. The tournament winner will play in the FIFA Play-off Tournament to potentially be the 10th African nation.
Here are the groups following the draw in Abidjan on Thursday:
Africa FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Groups
Group A
- Egypt
- Burkina Faso
- Guinea-Bissau
- Sierra Leone
- Ethiopia
- Djibouti
The Pharaohs of Egypt will fancy their chances in this group, but they'll be competing with Burkina Faso for the top spot.
Should Egypt qualify, it'll be only their fourth appearance in the FIFA World Cup.
Group B
- Senegal
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Mauritania
- Togo
- Sudan
- South Sudan
The reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal, are clear favourites to emerge as group winners in this FIFA World Cup Qualifiers group.
Group C
- Nigeria
- South Africa
- Benin
- Zimbabwe
- Rwanda
- Lesotho
In Group C, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will renew rivalries with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa for the ultimate slot.
Nigeria will be eager to make their seventh appearance at the Mundial, and it'll take something special to stop them from topping this group.
Group D
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Angola
- Libya
- Eswatini
- Mauritius
In one of the toughest draws of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Cameroon, Angola and Libya will battle for the top spot.
All three teams have all it takes to snatch the ticket to the global stage.
Group E
- Morocco
- Zambia
- Congo
- Tanzania
- Niger
- Eritrea
The 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, on paper, have a clear road to the next World Cup. However, Zambia and Congo can pose some a threat to Morocco's chances.
Group F
- Ivory Coast
- Gabon
- Kenya
- The Gambia
- Burundi
- Seychelles
Ivory Coast will be looking to appear in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, having missed out on the 2022 edition.
It's a tough group with Kenya, Gabon and Ivory Coast, three teams that threaten the Ivorians. But then, we feel Ivory Coast has a slight edge over every other team here and should be able to win the group.
Group G
- Algeria
- Guinea
- Uganda
- Mozambique
- Botswana
- Somalia
Algeria have it all to win here. We feel it'll be a shocker to see Algeria not finish as Group G winners.
Group H
- Tunisia
- Equatorial Guinea
- Namibia
- Malawi
- Liberia
- Sao Tome e Principe
Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea are the star teams of this group. Both teams will be going for it in a winner takes all affair when they meet.
Group I
- Mali
- Ghana
- Madagascar
- Central African Republic
- Comoros
- Chad
Ghana, who denied Nigeria a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, will battle Mali for an Express ticket to America.
It's a tough group with no clear favourites. Ghana's history at the FIFA World Cup could be the defining factor to who wins this group when it's all said and done.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
