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The CAF draw for FIFA World Cup 26™ to determine the African qualification groups has taken place in Abdijan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Qatar 22 semi-finalists Morocco will face Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger and Eritrea on the road to FIFA World Cup 26 after being drawn in Group E.
Senegal, who were beaten by England in the Round of 16 at the most recent edition, are in Group B and will tackle Congo DR, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan and South Sudan.
Group C features both Nigeria and 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa, along with Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho.
FIFA World Cup 26™ Preliminary Draw – CAF
Group A:
Egypt
Burkina Faso
Guinea-Bissau
Sierra Leone
Ethiopia
Djibouti
Group B:
Senegal
Congo DR
Mauritania
Togo
Sudan
South Sudan
Group C:
Nigeria
South Africa
Benin
Zimbabwe
Rwanda
Lesotho
Group D:
Cameroon
Cabo Verde
Angola
Libya
Eswatini
Mauritius
Group E:
Morocco
Zambia
Congo
Tanzania
Niger
Eritrea
Group F:
Côte d'Ivoire
Gabon
Kenya
The Gambia
Burundi
Seychelles
Group G:
Algeria
Guinea
Uganda
Mozambique
Botswana
Somalia
Group H:
Tunisia
Equatorial Guinea
Namibia
Malawi
Liberia
São Tomé and Príncipe
Group I:
Mali
Ghana
Madagascar
Central African Republic
Comoros
Chad
How does qualifying work?
The nine groups will play in a home and away, round-robin, format with each of the group winners qualifying automatically for the FIFA World Cup 26™ .
The four best group runners-up will then compete in a play-off stage to determine CAF’s representative at the FIFA play-off tournament.
The FIFA play-off tournament will feature one team from each of FIFA's six confederations, except UEFA, plus one additional team from the host confederation (Concacaf).
Two of the six teams will be seeded based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. The seeded teams will play for a FIFA World Cup berth against the winners of the first two knockout games involving the four unseeded teams.
When are the qualifying matches?
They will take place over ten matchdays during the next two years:
13-21 November 2023
3-11 June 2024
17-25 March 2025
1-9 September 2025
6-14 October 2025
10-18 November 2025 (Play-offs)