The draw for the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup was made in Abidjan on Thursday ahead of the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The first two match days in the nine groups, which each contain six teams, will be played on Nov. 13-21, 2023 and the last two on Oct. 6-14, 2025.
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The top team in each pool qualifies for the World Cup finals.
The four best runners-up will enter a playoff stage scheduled for Nov. 10-18, 2025, where the winner will enter the inter-confederation playoffs to be held in March 2026.
2026 World Cup African qualifiers draw:
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
The Gambia
Burundi
Seychelles
GROUP G
Algeria
Guinea
Uganda
Mozambique
Botswana
Somalia
GROUP H
Tunisia
Equatorial Guinea
Namibia
Malawi
Liberia
Sao Tome e Principe
GROUP I
Mali
Ghana
Madagascar
Central African Republic
Comoros
Chad