Morocco, which became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup last fall in Qatar, will face Zambia and Congo in particular in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the draw of which was held Thursday in Abidjan, with nine tickets up for grabs.
“That’s wonderful. For the first time, the African continent will have nine qualified for a World Cup. He will even have the possibility of adding a 10th via the dams”, rejoiced the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, on the occasion of the ceremony which had just closed the 45th general assembly of the African Football Confederation.
The African continent has long had only five representatives in the final phase of a World Cup. It takes advantage of the transition to 48 participating nations, against 32 until then, to significantly increase its number of places.
Nine countries had been designated seeded for this draw: Senegal, reigning African champion, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Tunisia and The Mali.
If no “group of death” emerges, Egypt will still have to get rid of Burkina Faso and Mali will have to dismiss Ghana, present in Qatar, to qualify for the World Cup-2026, which will take place in Canada. , United States and Mexico. Morocco, beaten 2-0 by France in the semi-finals in Qatar, will face, in particular, Zambia, Congo and Tanzania.
The first nine of each group will be directly qualified. The four best runners-up will compete in play-offs, the winner of which will try to obtain a final ticket via an intercontinental qualifying tournament scheduled for March 2026.
The African qualifiers are scheduled over almost two years, between November 2023 and October 2025. The first two days will take place on November 13 and 21.
Complete composition of the nine hens:
Group A: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti
Group B: Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan, South Sudan
Group C: Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho
Group D: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Eswatini, Mauritius
Group E: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger, Eritrea
Group F: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles
Group G: Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia
Group H: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe
Group I: Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chad.
