The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the continental play-off to determine Africa’s final ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held in Morocco.
In a circular signed by CAF’s Director of Competitions and Events, Samson Adamu, and sent to all member associations ahead of Matchday 10 of the qualifiers, CAF outlined the format, seeding process, and match rules for the decisive mini-tournament.
According to the document, the four best runners-up from the nine qualification groups will compete in Morocco for the final continental spot. The October FIFA World Rankings will be used to seed the teams as follows:
•Team 1: Highest-ranked nation
•Team 2: Second highest-ranked nation
•Team 3: Third highest-ranked nation
•Team 4: Lowest-ranked nation
The top-ranked team will face the lowest-ranked in the first semi-final, while the second and third-ranked teams will meet in the other semi-final.
Knockout Format and Match Rules
CAF confirmed that the play-off will follow a single-leg knockout format, hosted entirely in Morocco from 13 to 16 November 2025.
If a match ends in a draw after 90 minutes, extra time of two halves of 15 minutes will be played. If still level, the game will be decided by a penalty shootout.
Teams will be allowed a total of six substitutions — five during normal time and one in extra time.
The two semi-final winners will then meet in a final match to decide which nation represents Africa at the FIFA Intercontinental Play-Off, where they will compete for one of the last available global slots at the 2026 World Cup.
CAF reaffirmed that this structure aligns with the new qualification format introduced in 2023, following the expansion of Africa’s slots from five to nine direct places, with the potential of a tenth team through the intercontinental play-off.
As the group stage nears its conclusion, countries such as Gabon, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Uganda, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, and Nigeria remain in contention for one of the top runner-up spots.
CAF also clarified that, to ensure fairness, results against the bottom team in each group will not be counted when comparing the best second-placed teams — a decision made after Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers.
The play-off winner will join Africa’s nine directly qualified teams, giving the continent a possible historic 10-team representation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.