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African (CAF) 2026 World Cup qualifying schedule, results, table

A record nine teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and 10 is a possibility as the 54 nations of CAF begin their battle for places in the North American-based tournament.

Well, technically it's already down to 53, as Eritrea has withdrawn from qualification, but we'll lay out the schedule, standings, and more in this post.

[ MORE: How will 48-team 2026 World Cup work? ]

There are stars from around world soccer in CAF, including dozens of Premier League players like Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Manchester United's Andre Onana, West Ham's Mohammed Kudus, Tottenham's Yves Bissouma, and plenty of stars representing Senegal, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Competition will be fierce with only one guaranteed spot available to Mali and Ghana (Group I), Nigeria and South Africa (Group C), and Senegal and DR Congo (Group B). The first four matchdays are in the books, with World Cup qualification resuming in March 2025.

Here's everything you need to know for African World Cup qualifying.

Premier League players in African (CAF) 2026 World Cup qualification

Algeria: Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves)

Burkina Faso: Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth)

Cameroon: Andre Onana (Manchester United), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford), Carlos Baleba (Brighton)

Dem Rep of Congo: Yoane Wissa (Brentford), Axel Tuanzebe (Ipswich Town)

Egypt: Omar Marmoush (Man City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Sam Morsy (Ipswich Town)

The Gambia: Yankuba Minteh (Brighton)

Ghana: Tariq Lamptey (Brighton), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Jordan Ayew (Leicester City), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Jeff Schlupp (Crystal Palace), Ibrahima Osman (Brighton), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Southampton)

Guinea-Bissau: Beto (Everton)

Ivory Coast: Willy Boly (Nottingham Forest), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest), Simon Adingra (Brighton), Amad Diallo (Manchester United), David Datro Fofana (Chelsea)

Mali: Yves Bissouma (Tottenham), Cheick Doucoure (Crystal Palace), Boubacar Traore (Wolves)

Morocco: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Bilal El Khannous (Leicester City), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace)

Nigeria: Calvin Bassey (Fulham), Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Frank Onyeka (Brentford), Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest), Joe Aribo (Southampton), Paul Onuachu (Southampton)

Senegal: Moussa Niakhate (Nottingham Forest), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Sarr (Tottenham), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton)

Tunisia: Samy Chouchane (Brighton)

Zambia: Patson Daka (Leicester City)

Zimbabwe: Tawanda Chirewa (Wolves)

African (CAF) 2026 World Cup qualification format

  • First round (Nov. 15, 2023 - Oct. 14 2025): 54 teams, nine groups, top team from each group qualifies for World Cup, four best runners-up go to playoff semifinals
  • Second round (Nov. 10-18, 2025): Four best group runners-up stage semifinal, final. Winner plays inter-confederation playoff.

African (CAF) World Cup qualification schedule — Next first round fixtures

Matchday 5

Wednesday March 19, 2025

Tanzania vs Congo — Postponed
Central African Republic vs Madagascar — 12pm ET
Eswatini vs Cameroon — 12pm ET
Liberia vs Tunisia — 12pm ET

Thursday March 20, 2025

Mozambique vs Uganda — 9am ET
Cape Verde vs Mauritius — 12pm ET
Malawi vs Namibia — 12pm ET
Sierra Leone vs Guinea-Bissau — 12pm ET
Zimbabwe vs Benin — 12pm ET
Gabon vs Seychelles — 3pm ET
Gambia vs Kenya — 3pm ET
Libya vs Angola — 3pm ET
Comoros vs Mali — 5pm ET

Friday March 21, 2025

Botswana vs Algeria — 9am ET
Equatorial Guinea vs Sao Tome and Principe — 9am ET
Burkina Faso vs Djibouti — 12pm ET
DR Congo vs South Sudan — 12pm ET
Rwanda vs Nigeria — 12pm ET
South Africa vs Lesotho — 12pm ET
Burundi vs Ivory Coast — 3pm ET
Ghana vs Chad — 3pm ET
Ethiopia vs Egypt — 5pm ET
Guinea vs Somalia — 5pm ET
Niger vs Morocco — 5:30pm ET

Saturday March 22, 2025

Congo vs Zambia — Postponed
Togo vs Mauritania — 12pm ET
Sudan vs Senegal — 3pm ET

Matchday 6

Sunday March 23, 2025

Eswatini vs Mauritius — 9am ET
Kenya vs Gabon — 9am ET

Monday March 24, 2025

Namibia vs Equatorial Guinea — 9am ET
Central African Republic vs Mali — 12pm ET
Guinea-Bissau vs Burkina Faso — 12pm ET
Liberia vs Sao Tome and Principe — 12pm ET
Ivory Coast vs Gambia — 3pm ET
Madagascar vs Ghana — 3pm ET
Ethiopia vs Djibouti — 5pm ET
Tunisia vs Malawi — 5pm ET

Tuesday March 25, 2025

Botswana vs Somalia — 9am ET
Angola vs Cape Verde — 12pm ET
Benin vs South Africa — 12pm ET
Nigeria vs Zimbabwe — 12pm ET
Rwanda vs Lesotho — 12pm ET
Uganda vs Guinea — 12pm ET
Burundi vs Seychelles — 3pm ET
Cameroon vs Libya — 3pm ET
Egypt vs Sierra Leone — 3pm ET
Sudan vs South Sudan — 3pm ET
Algeria vs Mozambique — 5pm ET
Comoros vs Chad — 5pm ET
Mauritania vs DR Congo — 5pm ET
Senegal vs Togo — 5pm ET
Morocco vs Tanzania — 5:30pm ET

African (CAF) 2026 World Cup qualification — Standings/table

Group A

  1. Egypt — 3-1-0 — +9 GD — 10 points
  2. Guinea-Bissau — 1-3-0 — +1 GD — 6 points
  3. Burkina Faso — 1-2-1 — +2 GD — 5 point
  4. Sierra Leone — 1-2-1 — -1 GD — 5 points
  5. Ethiopia — 0-3-1 — -3 GD — 3 points
  6. Djibouti — 0-1-3 — -8 GD — 1 point

Group B

  1. Sudan — 3-1-0 — +6 GD — 10 points
  2. Senegal — 2-2-0 — +5 GD — 8 points
  3. Democratic Republic of Congo — 2-1-1 — +2 GD — 7 points
  4. Togo — 0-3-1 — -1 GD — 3 points
  5. South Sudan — 0-2-2 — -7 GD — 2 points
  6. Mauritania — 0-1-3 — -4 GD — 1 point

Group C

  1. Rwanda — 2-1-1— +2 GD — 7 points
  2. Benin — 2-1-1 — +1 GD — 7 points
  3. South Africa — 2-1-1— +1 GD — 7 points
  4. Lesotho — 1-2-1 — +1 GD — 5 points
  5. Nigeria — 0-3-1 — -1 GD — 3 points
  6. Zimbabwe — 0-2-2 — -4 GD — 2 points

Group D

  1. Cameroon — 2-2-0 — +6 GD — 8 points
  2. Libya — 2-1-1 — +1 GD — 7 points
  3. Cape Verde — 2-1-1 — 0 GD — 7 points
  4. Angola — 1-3-0 — +1 GD — 6 points
  5. Mauritius — 1-1-2 — -3 GD — 4 points
  6. Eswatini — 0-0-4— -5 GD — 0 points

Group E

  1. Morocco — 3-0-0 — +9 GD — 9 points
  2. Tanzania — 2-0-1 — 0 GD — 6 points
  3. Niger — 1-0-1 — 0 GD — 3 points
  4. Zambia — 1-0-3 — 0 GD — 3 points
  5. Republic of Congo — 0-0-2 — -8 GD — 0 points
  6. Eritrea — withdrew

Group F

  1. Ivory Coast — 3-1-0 — +12 GD — 10 points
  2. Gabon — 3-0-1 — +2 GD — 9 points
  3. Burundi — 2-1-1 — +2 GD — 7 points
  4. Kenya — 1-2-1 — +4 GD — 5 points
  5. Gambia — 1-0-3 — 0 GD — 3 points
  6. Seychelles — 0-0-4 — -20 GD — 0 points

Group G

  1. Algeria — 3-0-1 — +4 GD — 9 points
  2. Mozambique — 3-0-1 — +1 GD — 9 points
  3. Botswana — 2-0-2 — +1 GD — 6 points
  4. Guinea — 2-0-2 — 0 GD — 6 points
  5. Uganda — 2-0-2 — 01 GD — 6 points
  6. Somalia — 0-0-4 — -6 GD — 0 points

Group H

  1. Tunisia — 3-1-0 — +6 GD — 10 points
  2. Namibia — 2-2-0 — +5 GD — 8 points
  3. Liberia — 2-1-1 — +3 GD — 7 points
  4. Malawi — 2-0-2 — +1 GD — 6 points
  5. Equatorial Guinea — 1-0-3 — -6 GD — 3 points
  6. Sao Tome and Principe — 0-0-4 — -9 GD — 0 points

Group I

  1. Comoros — 3-0-1 — +4 GD — 9 points
  2. Ghana — 3-0-1 — +2 GD — 9 points
  3. Madagascar — 2-1-1 — +3 GD — 7 points
  4. Mali — 1-2-1 — +1 GD — 5 points
  5. Central African Republic — 1-1-2 — -2 GD — 4 points
  6. Chad — 0-0-4 — -8 GD — 0 points

African (CAF) World Cup qualification schedule — First round results

Matchday 1

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Namibia
Rwanda 0-0 Zimbabwe
DR Congo 2-0 Mauritania
Ethiopia 0-0 Sierra Leone

Thursday, November 16, 2023
Burundi 3-2 Gambia
Botswana 2-3 Mozambique
Nigeria 1-1 Lesotho
Sudan 1-1 Togo
Gabon 2-1 Kenya
Algeria 3-1 Somalia
Egypt 6-0 Djibouti
Morocco vs Eritrea — canceled
Cape Verde 0-0 Angola

Friday, November 17, 2023
Eswatini 0-1 Libya
Comoros 4-2 Central African Republic
Guinea 2-1 Uganda
Liberia 0-1 Malawi
Zambia 4-2 Rep. Congo
Ghana 1-0 Madagascar
Mali 3-1 Chad
Burkina Faso 1-1 Guinea-Bissau
Tunisia 4-0 Sao Tome and Principe
Ivory Coast 9-0 Seychelles
Cameroon 3-0 Mauritius

Saturday, November 18, 2023
South Africa 2-1 Benin
Niger 0-1 Tanzania
Senegal 4-0 South Sudan

Matchday 2

Sunday, November 19, 2023
Zimbabwe 1-1 Nigeria
Burundi 1-2 Gabon
Mozambique 0-2 Algeria
Sudan 1-0 DR Congo
Sierra Leone 0-2 Egypt

Monday, November 20, 2023
Djibouti 0-1 Guinea-Bissau
Gambia 0-2 Ivory Coast
Eritrea vs Rep Congo — canceled
Liberia 0-1 Equatorial Guinea
Seychelles 0-5 Kenya
Mali 1-1 Central African Republic
Chad 0-3 Madagascar

Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Lesotho 0-0 Benin
Ethiopia 0-3 Burkina Faso
Somalia 0-1 Uganda
Eswatini 0-2 Cape Verde
Malawi 0-1 Tunisia
Botswana 1-0 Guinea
Rwanda 2-0 South Africa
Togo 0-0 Senegal
Comoros 1-0 Ghana
South Sudan 0-0 Mauritania
Mauritius 0-0 Angola
Libya 1-1 Cameroon
Sao Tome and Principe 0-2 Namibia
Tanzania 0-2 Morocco
Niger 2-1 Zambia

June 3, 2024
Libya 2-1 Mauritius
Mali 1-2 Ghana
Kenya 1-1 Burundi
Gambia 5-1 Seychelles
Angola 1-0 Eswatini
Namibia 1-1 Liberia
Morocco 2-1 Zambia
Senegal 1-1 DR Congo
Benin 1-0 Rwanda
Ivory Coast 1-0 Gabon
Tunisia 1-0 Equatorial Guinea
Sierra Leone 2-1 Djibouti
Egypt 2-1 Burkina Faso
Malawi 3-1 Sao Tome and Principe
Mauritania 0-2 Sudan
Central African Republic 1-0 Chad
Rep Congo vs Niger — postponed
Togo 1-1 South Sudan
Zimbabwe 0-2 Lesotho
Mozambique 2-1 Somalia
Madagascar 2-1 Comoros
Guinea-Bissau 0-0 Ethiopia
Nigeria 1-1 South Africa
Uganda 1-0 Botswana
Cameroon 4-1 Cape Verde
Algeria 1-0 Guinea

June 10, 2024
Somalia 1-3 Botswana
Benin 2-1 Nigeria
Sao Tome and Principe 0-1 Liberia
Djibouti 1-1 Ethiopia
DR Congo 1-0 Togo
Mauritania 0-1 Senegal
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Malawi
Burkina Faso 2-2 Sierra Leone
Uganda 1-2 Algeria
Namibia 0-0 Tunisia
Guinea 0-1 Mozambique
Ghana 4-3 Central African Republic
Guinea-Bissau 1-1 Egypt

June 11, 2024
Madagascar 0-0 Mali
Mauritius 2-1 Eswatini
Kenya 0-0 Ivory Coast
South Sudan 0-3 Sudan
South Africa 3-1 Zimbabwe
Zambia 0-1 Tanzania
Cape Verde 1-0 Libya
Lesotho 0-1 Rwanda
Chad 0-2 Comoros
Rep Congo 0-6 Morocco
Gabon 3-2 Gambia
Angola 1-1 Cameroon
Seychelles 1-3 Burundi

Read more at Yahoo Sports
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Topics

  • World Cup
  • World Cup Qualifying
  • Cup Qualifying
  • Qualifying
  • Results Table

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