The Confederation of African Football (CAF) playoffs are scheduled to begin on Thursday, featuring four teams: Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These teams will compete for a place in the FIFA intercontinental playoff tournament in March, which is the final step for qualification into the 2026 World Cup in North America.
These four teams emerged as the top runners-up from nine African qualifying groups. The playoff victor will maintain their nation’s hopes of representing Africa as the tenth participant in the World Cup finals.
The playoffs will be held in Rabat, Morocco, utilizing three stadiums. The semifinals will take place at Al Barid Stadium and Moulay El Hassan Stadium, while the final will be hosted at the recently built Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which is also set to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in January.
The semifinal matches will occur as follows:
– Nigeria vs Gabon: Thursday, November 13 at 5 PM (16:00 GMT) at Moulay El Hassan Stadium
– Cameroon vs Congo DR: Thursday, November 13 at 8 PM (19:00 GMT) at Al Barid Stadium
The final will be played on Sunday, November 16 at 8 PM local time (19:00 GMT).
The matchups in the playoffs were determined based on FIFA world rankings from October 17. Nigeria is ranked highest at #41, followed by Cameroon at #54, Congo DR at #60, and Gabon at #77. Rankings guided the pairings: Nigeria vs Gabon and Cameroon vs Congo DR.
The winner of the CAF playoff must still compete in a FIFA intercontinental playoff in March to secure a spot in the World Cup. The intercontinental playoff will include teams from CONCACAF, AFC, CONMEBOL, and OFC.
Currently, nine African teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup through direct entry from the CAF group stage: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia. The World Cup will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. This edition marks the first expansion to 48 teams, making it the longest tournament in history.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2025/11/11/african-world-cup-2026-qualifiers-playoffs-squads-teams-and-start-time?traffic_source=rss