The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the venues, dates, and format for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African play-offs, setting the stage for a decisive showdown in November 2025.
In a letter circulated to all member federations, CAF confirmed that Morocco: host nation of the upcoming AFCON 2025: will also stage the African play-offs for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
According to the schedule, the semi-final matches of the four-team mini-tournament will take place on November 13, 2025, while the final will be played on November 16, 2025.
The CAF playoff competition will feature the four best runners-up from the nine qualifying groups, determined after Matchday 10 of the qualifiers.
CAF outlined that in the event of a draw, matches will proceed to extra time and, if necessary, penalty shootouts. Teams will be allowed five substitutions, with a sixth permitted during extra time.
The October 2025 FIFA World Rankings, set to be published on October 23, will determine the draw and seeding for the play-offs.
The highest-ranked team will face the fourth-ranked in one semi-final, while the second and third ranked sides will meet in the other.
The winner of the Moroccan play-off tournament will advance to the intercontinental play-off scheduled for March 2026, where they will compete against teams from Asia, South America, Oceania, and Concacaf for a chance to claim Africa’s 10th and final slot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
With the spots of Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Morocco, Cape Verde and South Africa confirmed, four teams that finished second in their respective groups are set to fight for the last chance: Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The standings for the four teams qualified for the African playoff are as follows:
- Gabon – 19 points
- Democratic Republic of Congo – 16 points
- Cameroon – 15 points (+9)
- Nigeria – 15 points (+7)
African playoff match schedule
- Semi-finals – November 13, 2025
Highest-ranked team in FIFA ranking × Lowest-ranked team
Second highest-ranked team × Third-ranked team - Final – November 16, 2025
Winner of the first semi-final × Winner of the second semi-final
