Africa’s lineup for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been finalised following the completion of the CAF qualification campaign, with nine nations booking their spots at next year’s global showpiece in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The qualifiers offered a thrilling mix of familiar faces and fresh stories. Cape Verde made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, becoming only the second smallest nation ever to reach the finals, following in the footsteps of Iceland’s historic 2018 appearance.
Meanwhile, Ivory Coast and South Africa return to football’s biggest stage after lengthy absences, while continental heavyweights such as Senegal, Morocco, and Tunisia maintained their remarkable consistency, underlining the depth and growth of African football on the world stage.
The Black Stars of Ghana made history, qualifying for a fifth World Cup, led by former player Otto Addo.
The qualified nations are:
Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, South Africa, and Cape Verde.
With some of the top national teams set to compete at the global showpiece, the expectations would be high.
Morocco reached the semi-finals at the 2022 edition and made Africa very proud. Hopefully, one of the nine qualified national teams would match that feat or even go a step closer to playing in the final.