By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria, who have reached the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup finals on three occasions, must overcome the challenge of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Benin Republic, Lesotho and Rwanda to reach the next finals to be staged in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The Draws
At the draw ceremony conducted on Thursday July 13, 2023 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, within the belt of the CAF Ordinary General Assembly, the Super Eagles top Group B which also has Zimbabwe’s Warriors, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, Rwanda’s Amavubi, Benin Republic’s Cheetahs and Lesotho’s Crocodiles.
Also, World Cup semi-finalists Morocco have been handed a mild path to the 2026 tournament after the draw.
Morocco have been drawn with Zambia, Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania, Niger and Eritrea, and will be heavy favourites to finish top of the pool.
African champions Senegal face a tougher road with Democratic Republic of Congo in their group and a potentially tricky away day in Mauritania.
They also meet 2006 World Cup finalists Togo and the duo of Sudan and South Sudan.
There is also a mighty west African clash in Group I as Mali and Ghana meet. They must also play tricky Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad.
Tunisia have been to five of the last seven World Cups and will fancy their chances again with an easy looking draw. They meet Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia and Sao Tome & Principe. There should be few alarms for them.
Algeria missed out on the 2022 finals in heartbreaking fashion with a last-gasp playoff loss to Cameroon, but will be confident of getting it right first time as they clash with Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana and Somalia.
Qualifier Module
The top team in each of the nine groups, which each containing six countries, qualify automatically for the World Cup.
The first two match days in the groups will be played on November 13 to 21, 2023 and the last two on October 6 to 14, 2025.
The African playoff stage is scheduled for November 10 to 18, 2025.
There are six teams in each of the nine groups, with only the group winners guaranteed slots at the expanded FIFA World Cup finals in the summer of 2026.
The best four second-placed teams in the nine groups will then contest a mini-tournament, with the winner eligible for a playoff spot for another slot in USA/Canada/Mexico finals.
Each of the teams will play two of their 10 matches in the campaign in the FIFA window of November this year, with the other eight games to be spread between 2024 and 2025.
The four best runners-up will enter an African playoff stage, where the winners will feature in the inter-confederation playoffs to be held in March 2026.
The Full Groupings
GROUP A: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti
GROUP B: Senegal, DR Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan, South Sudan
GROUP C: Nigeria, South Africa, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho
GROUP D: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, eSwatini, Mauritius
GROUP E: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger Republic, Eritrea
GROUP F: Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, The Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles
GROUP G: Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia
GROUP H: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome & Principe
GROUP I: Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chad
