Nigeria eye November redemption date against Gabon, DR Congo, Cameroon in intercontinental play-off
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – With the two-year qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup almost done, multiple nations have booked their slots at next summer’s football tournament to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and USA
Excitingly, Africa has sorted out fully its nine direct qualification spots with one additional play-off tournament slot slated for November now outstanding.
Already, of the 48 teams expected to feature in the tournament, 28 of them have confirmed their qualification. Here is all qualified teams and their regions
Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA.
UEFA: England
AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
CAF: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.
OFC: New Zealand.
CONCACAF: None yet
Africa will be heading to the Mundial with its largest-ever contingent and renewed hopes of a historic breakthrough on the world stage.
The expanded 48-team World Cup format offers the continent unprecedented opportunity to dazzle and set the world stage alight with its abundant talent at the football carnival:
Of great interest is Morocco, who made history as the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2022, and the Atlas Lions will be seeking to repeat their heroics in North America.
They are joined by Senegal and Ivory Coast, two of Africa’s most consistent performers, also keen to further assert dominance, while Egypt and Ghana are returning to the elite tournament with renewed vigour and ambition to reach new heights of glory.
Cape Verde’s qualification stands out as a major achievement for the island nation, marking a new milestone in its football journey. This is as North African heavyweights Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco continue to underline the region’s strong footballing tradition.
In November, the final African slot will be determined through an intercontinental playoff, where one of the continent’s runners-up, Gabon, DR Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria, will fight for a place at the tournament set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico in 2026.
