CAF World Cup Qualifiers

The CAF World Cup Qualifiers are the African qualification tournaments for the FIFA World Cup, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The CAF World Cup Qualifiers are the African qualification tournaments for the FIFA World Cup, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In the 2026 cycle, CAF teams played a group stage followed by a play-off round to determine direct qualifiers and the confederation’s inter-confederation play-off representative. Canada hosted matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, so CAF qualification helped determine which African national teams could play in the tournament held partly in Canada.

Format

CAF qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup began with nine groups of six teams, played home and away. The group winners qualified directly, while the four best runners-up entered a CAF play-off stage for one further place in the inter-confederation play-offs.

2026 qualifying cycle

The 2026 CAF qualifying cycle involved 54 teams and ran from 15 November 2023 to 16 November 2025. Matches were scheduled across multiple international windows, with the final CAF play-off matches staged in Morocco in November 2025.

Qualification pathway

CAF received nine direct places at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, plus one additional place through the inter-confederation play-offs. The CAF play-off winner advanced to face teams from other confederations for a final World Cup berth.

Notable outcomes

The qualifying campaign produced nine automatic African qualifiers and a separate play-off contender for the inter-confederation stage. Coverage in the source set also notes later-round standings and fixtures from the ongoing or completed 2026 cycle.