By Angu Lesley N A
Football Writer,kick442.com-Cameroon
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed the playoff structure that will determine Africa’s final representative for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Africa’s qualification journey remains one of the most competitive on the planet, with 54 nations battling for just 10 potential slots at the expanded 48-team World Cup.
Group Stage: The Race Begins
CAF’s qualification pathway features nine groups of six teams each, meaning every side will play a total of 10 matches — five at home and five away. The only exception being group E that was reduced by the withdrawal of Erithrea.
The stakes are clear: only the group winners (nine teams in total) will qualify automatically for the World Cup.
But for those who finish just short, there’s still a lifeline.
Second Chance: CAF Centralized Playoff Tournament in November 2025
The four best runners-up across all nine groups will advance to a centralized playoff tournament to determine one more African contender.
Unfortunately due to the withdrawal if Erithrea, CAF informed member Associations sometime in March that to achieve equity in the number of matches played by all teams competing for the second spot, points obtained by second-placed teams against bottom ranked teams will be deducted.
This playoff, to be held at a neutral venue (likely in Morocco), will feature three matches in a knockout format:
Semi-final 1: Team 1 vs Team 4 November 13 for both games
Semi-final 2: Team 2 vs Team 3
Final: Winners meet for a ticket to the next stage (November 19
The victor of the final will then qualify for the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff, joining representatives from other continents in a global showdown for the last World Cup spots.
How the Best Runners-Up Are Determined
CAF has adopted FIFA’s standardized tie-break criteria (Article 11.5) to ensure fairness. When comparing second-placed teams:
Results against the bottom team in each group (or any withdrawn nation) will not be counted.
Points, goal difference, goals scored, and other FIFA-sanctioned tie-breakers will be used to rank the remaining sides.
This method ensures that all runners-up are compared evenly, regardless of group size or unforeseen withdrawals.
Intercontinental Picture: Global Playoff Taking Shape
Africa’s playoff winner will head into the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff, where they’ll face contenders from other confederations for one of the final World Cup berths.
As it stands, Bolivia has already secured its spot from CONMEBOL, while the representatives from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Oceania (OFC) — likely New Caledonia or another Pacific nation — are still to be determined.
CAF’s playoff champion will join this mix in what promises to be an intense, winner-takes-all series to clinch the remaining places at the 2026 tournament.
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