Africa's World Cup qualifying campaign has seen nine teams secure their places at next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, for four CAF teams, including Nigeria, there's still a glimmer of hope.
Nigeria will not be going ahead with planned friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia in the USA next month, after the Super Eagles qualified for the World Cup playoffs which take place in Morocco at the same time.
Spain still topped the FIFA men's world rankings, with Germany back on track to be a top-seeded team in the World Cup finals draw on Dec. 5.
Victor Osimhen plundered a hat trick and substitute Frank Onyeka scored a pile driver as Nigeria routed Benin in Uyo, to keep their FIFA World Cup qualifying hopes alive.
South Africa's performance to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is symbolic of the resilience that coach Hugo Broos has instilled in the team.
There are 87 national teams that could win the FIFA World Cup next summer. With only three international breaks left before the tournament, we rank every team.
The race for the 2026 World Cup is drawing to a close. Here's how it's looking around the globe.
The group stage of Africa's World Cup qualifying campaign reached a pulsating finale on Tuesday, after South Africa nearly threw their slot away, Cape Verde made history, Morocco were magical, and Nigeria kept their hopes alive.
South Africa became the latest African nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Rwanda 3-0 Tuesday to top its qualifying group, despite being docked three points for fielding an ineligible player in earlier games.
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong and coach Eric Sekou Chelle both admit the Super Eagles will need a miracle to qualify for next year's World Cup, but they insist that miracle is one that they have earned.
The October international window as we know it is about to close for the very last time. It's part a big change to FIFA breaks that begins next season.
Cape Verde will play in the World Cup for the first time after beating Eswatini 3-0 to win its group in African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Monday.
In a remarkable turnaround from a position of strength, Bafana Bafana now need a win against Rwanda in Mbombela on Tuesday to keep their faint FIFA World Cup qualifying hopes alive.
Africa's 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign is coming to a close, and Nigeria, Benin, South Africa face a conundrum in Group C.
Nigeria secure the win they needed to ensure the race for FIFA World Cup qualification goes down to the wire in Group C.
Nigeria defeated Lesotho 2-1 in Group C, as Benin beat Rwanda, and Zimbabwe held South Africa to a 0-0 draw.
The Super Eagles need slip-ups from both South Africa and Benin in the final two rounds of group matches in World Cup qualifying.
Bafana Bafana will look to get back on top of Group C of CAF FIFA World Cup qualifying when they face Zimbabwe at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday.
Algeria has become the fourth African country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup -- and all of them are from the north of the continent.
Mohamed Salah is going back to the World Cup with Egypt next summer.
We've almost reached the conclusion of Africa's World Cup qualifying campaign, with only two matchdays left of the continent's group stage and nine qualifiers being confirmed for the tournament in Canada-Mexico-USA next June.
There's still so much up for grabs across the nine groups for Africa's sides, with only two teams -- Morocco and Tunisia -- guaranteed to take their place among the elite in North America next year.
Osimhen played just over 30 minutes of September's qualifier vs. Rwanda, after a reckless tackle, and missed the draw with South Africa.
| Group A | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | +18 | 26 |
| Burkina Faso | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | +15 | 21 |
| Sierra Leone | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | +2 | 15 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 10 |
| Ethiopia | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -5 | 9 |
| Djibouti | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -28 | 1 |
| Group B | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Senegal | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | +19 | 24 |
| Congo DR | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | +9 | 22 |
| Sudan | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | +2 | 13 |
| Togo | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -5 | 8 |
| Mauritania | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -9 | 7 |
| South Sudan | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -16 | 5 |
| Group C | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| South Africa | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | +6 | 18 |
| Nigeria | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | +7 | 17 |
| Benin | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 17 |
| Lesotho | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 12 |
| Rwanda | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -4 | 11 |
| Zimbabwe | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -7 | 5 |
| Group D | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Cape Verde Islands | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | +8 | 23 |
| Cameroon | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | +12 | 19 |
| Libya | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 16 |
| Angola | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | +1 | 12 |
| Mauritius | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -10 | 6 |
| Eswatini | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | -13 | 3 |
| Group E | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Morocco | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | +20 | 24 |
| Niger | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | +1 | 15 |
| Tanzania | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 10 |
| Zambia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Congo | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -20 | 1 |
| Eritrea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group F | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Ivory Coast | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | +25 | 26 |
| Gabon | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | +13 | 25 |
| Gambia | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | +9 | 13 |
| Kenya | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | +4 | 12 |
| Burundi | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Seychelles | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -51 | 0 |
| Group G | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Algeria | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | +16 | 25 |
| Uganda | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | +5 | 18 |
| Mozambique | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 18 |
| Guinea | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 15 |
| Botswana | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | -4 | 10 |
| Somalia | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -17 | 1 |
| Group H | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Tunisia | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | +22 | 28 |
| Namibia | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 15 |
| Liberia | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | +2 | 15 |
| Malawi | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | +1 | 13 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -7 | 11 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | -21 | 3 |
| Group I | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Ghana | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | +17 | 25 |
| Madagascar | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | +5 | 19 |
| Mali | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | +11 | 18 |
| Comoros | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | -1 | 15 |
| Central African Republic | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -13 | 8 |
| Chad | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -19 | 1 |
