Africa's Qualification Spots for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Brief Summary

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup expands from 32 to 48 teams, giving Africa more representation on the global stage.
• African teams now have 9 guaranteed qualification spots, with the possibility of a 10th via interconfederation playoffs.
• Morocco has already secured qualification, while Tunisia and Egypt are close behind as the group stage nears its conclusion.

Deep Dive!!

Tuesday, September 9th—The excitement around the 2026 FIFA World Cup is different. Gone are the days when just five slots are allocated to African teams. This opens more opportunities for more African teams to test their abilities and shine on the global stage, as the participating teams extend from 32 to 48 teams, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

In this article, we reveal how many qualification spots the African teams have in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

What’s New in the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Since 1998, the FIFA World Cup have had 32 qualified teams battle for the prestigious trophy, but for 2026, it has expanded to 48 teams. Underrepresented regions like Africa will now gain additional opportunities, which happens to be the goal of this reorganisation.

So, How Many Spots for African Teams?

In the 2022 World Cup, five African teams —Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Cameroon —qualified and participated in the tournament under the auspices of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), with Morocco reaching the semifinals.

In a new and exciting turn of events, African teams are guaranteed nine direct qualification spots, which is quite a huge upgrade from the previous five. Not only that: There’s a potential for a 10th African team to qualify via the interconfederation playoffs.

READ ALSO: Top 10 African National Teams' Historic Moments of All Time

Current Qualification Standings

As of the time of writing, three gameweeks are left to go in the group stage. Most notably, Morocco has already sealed their place and become the first African nation to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It looks like the Atlas Lions are looking to have another historic run once again in the tournament.

Other teams, like Egypt, are close to qualification and are dominating their Group A with 19 points. Also, Tunisia has finally sealed their place with 22 points after defeating Equatorial Guinea in a 1-0 victory.

The qualification stage kicked off in November 2023, paused, and returned in June 2024, four months after the conclusion of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The final double gameweek of the First Round will take place in October. It appears to be a safe assumption that the inter-confederation playoffs will be conducted in March 2026, with the African playoffs scheduled for November 2025.