The 2026 World Cup qualifying group stage draw will take place in Cotonou, Benin Republic on July 12. According to reports, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will discover their opponents for the tournament during the draw which will be held on the eve of the 45th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.
Africa will adopt a new qualification format for the 2026 World Cup hosted in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, employing a single-stage for the first time, CAF announced. The move puts an end to the previously used three rounds of qualifiers that would take two years to complete.
The nine groups would consist of six teams each playing in round-robin games. The group winners would earn an automatic ticket to the 2026 World Cup while the best four second-placed teams from all nine groups would proceed to a Continental play-off to decide one winner who will then proceed to a second six-team final playoff composed of different confederations.
The top two of the six teams of the final playoff would qualify for the World Cup, making up the total of 48 teams. Qualifiers are planned to begin from November this year, and the last matchday fixtures are scheduled for October 6-14, 2025.
Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, and Tunisia represented Africa during the 2018 World Cup in Qatar, with Nigeria missing out on the tournament for the first time since 2010. The playoff tournament will involve six teams to decide the final two World Cup qualifying teams. Morocco finished fourth and made history by becoming the first-ever African country to reach the semi-finals.
