Angu Lesley Ngwa Akonwi
Football Writer,kick442.com-Cameroon
Cameroon is almost certain to qualify for the continental playoffs of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Indomitable Lions finished second in their group behind Cabo Verde, who have already sealed qualification for the finals.
Under the new CAF guidelines for ranking second-placed teams, points earned against the bottom team in each group are excluded from the final standings. This rule has turned out to be a blessing for Cameroon.
While most runners-up lose six points from their total — having beaten the bottom side twice, home and away — Cameroon loses only four points. That’s because the Lions dropped points against Eswatini, the team that finished bottom of their group, drawing one of the two encounters instead of winning both.
As a result, Cameroon finished the group stage with 19 points, but after deducting the four points gained against Eswatini, they now stand on 15 points in the adjusted classification. This total currently places Cameroon second among all group runners-up, just behind Gabon.
Only an unlikely sequence of results can threaten their position. Uganda, sitting on 12 points, would need to beat Algeria by at least five goals to overtake Cameroon. DR Congo, currently outside the top four, must beat Sudan to move into the playoff zone — but even then, Cameroon would still remain among the four best runners-up, ensuring a place in the continental playoffs.
At that stage, the top four second-placed teams will face each other: the first will play the fourth, and the second will play the third. If the standings remain as they are, Cameroon (2nd) would likely meet DR Congo (3rd), while Gabon (1st) would face Burkina Faso (4th). The winners of those matches will then meet in a final to decide who advances to the intercontinental playoffs, where they’ll face teams from other continents for a final World Cup ticket.
Cameroon’s path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup remains wide open — and this time, the numbers are working in their favor.
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