Africa’s 9 Qualified Teams, Playoffs & Nigeria’s Qualification Situation

As the excitement builds for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, nine African teams have secured their direct spots, while four others will enter the playoffs for a chance to compete on the world stage. This report outlines the teams that have qualified, the playoff contenders, and an explanation of Nigeria’s unique situation in the qualification process.

Direct Qualifiers

The following nine African teams have successfully booked their direct tickets to the World Cup:

1. **Ivory Coast**
2. **Tunisia**
3. **Egypt**
4. **Morocco**
5. **Ghana**
6. **Senegal**
7. **Cape Verde**
8. **Algeria**
9. **SouthAfrica**

These teams demonstrated exceptional performance throughout the qualification rounds, showcasing their talent and determination to represent Africa on the global stage.

Playoff Contenders

In addition to the direct qualifiers, four teams will enter the playoffs, hoping to secure their place in the World Cup, these are:

1. **Gabon**
2. **DR Congo**
3. **Cameroon**
4. **Nigeria**

Gabon will face Nigeria and Cameroon versus DR Congo in a single-leg semi-final match in Morocco from November 13 to November 16, 2025. The winners will play in the final to decide a team that will proceed to the intercontinental playoffs to meet teams from Asia, South America, Oceania, and Concacaf for a chance to qualify for the World Cup.

This mini-tournament will take place in March 2026, just over two months before the World Cup is set to begin.

Nigeria’s Qualification Situation

Nigeria’s qualification scenario is particularly noteworthy. Despite finishing with 17 points in their qualifying group, they were placed in the playoffs as the second-best runners-up ahead of Burkina Faso who finished on 21 points due to a specific rule change for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers after the withdrawal of Eritrea from group E.

• Therefore group E had fewer teams than the others, necessitating a rule to ensure fairness. To balance the competition, results against the lowest-ranked team in six-team groups were dropped.
• Burkina Faso had gained more points against its lowest-ranked opponent than Nigeria had. When these points were deducted, Burkina Faso’s total dropped significantly, allowing Nigeria to pass them in the rankings.