2026 World Cup: Why Giants Nigeria and Ghana Might Miss the Tournament
For the first time in history, Africa might have up to ten teams playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tournament is to be held jointly by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, which is double the current representation.
This is largely because of the increase came after an unanimous decision by the FIFA Council on January 10, 2017 in a meeting held in Zurich.
The new tournament format will see the 48 teams – from the initial 32, split into 16 groups that will each comprise three teams. The top two nations will then advance to the 32-team knockout phase. As a result, matches will increase from the current 64 to 102.
The tournament will be played for 32 days, and there will be no reduction of rest days. Teams going all the way to the final will play a total of seven matches, as it has been.
How will Africa get its representatives for the 2026 World Cup?
Fifty-four nations on the continent will have a fair chance of battling for nine tickets. They have already been placed in nine groups of six teams each.
The involved teams will then play in a home-and-away round-robin format with the overall winners per pool, qualifying for the prestigious global competition.
In the playoff stage, four best runners-up in every group will face each other on a knock-out basis, with the winner playing in inter-confederation play-offs.
The final hurdle will involve six teams from all FIFA confederations, apart from UEFA, with one additional team coming from the confederation of the host countries.
It will also be played in a knockout basis whereby two seeded teams will play against the unseeded sides, and the overall winner will join the 47 qualified teams for the World Cup.
Group A: Will Egypt get the ticket?
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Egyptian Mostafa Abdalia celebrates after scoring during a friendly soccer game of the Egyptian national soccer team against Belgian national soccer team the Red Devils, at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, in Ardiya, Kuwait, Friday 18 November 2022.
Egypt are the favorites from Group A — which has Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
However, the Pharaohs will have to be consistent, especially in away matches, to ensure they finish top in their pool. Djibouti are the underdogs and their chances of topping the group are realistically non-existent.
Where might Egypt drop points? Ethiopia’s Walya Antelopes have proven they are not an easy nut to crack, especially when playing at home. In the latest meeting, they defeated Egypt 2-0.
From this pool, Egypt is the only team that has tasted World Cup football. They qualified for the 1934, 1990 and 2018 tournaments.
The Stallions of Burkina Faso have not been a threat for Egypt, the same as Guinea Bissau. Sierra Leone are unpredictable and can cause an upset. However, it cannot be enough to stop the Pharaohs from topping the group owing to their quality.
Group B: Senegal’s Teranga Lions to roar past their opponents?
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Habib Diallo of Senegal celebrates a goal during the International Friendly match between Brazil and Senegal at Estadio Jose Alvalade on June 20, 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan and South Sudan are Senegal’s challengers in Group B. They will determine whether the reigning AFCON champions will qualify for their fourth World Cup.
What chances do Senegal have? The Leopards pose the greatest threat in Teranga Lions’ bid to top the group. However, the head-to-head record favors the West Africans. They have won the last three meetings across all competitions which gives them the edge.
Regional rivals Togo cannot be underrated. As a matter of fact, they have won nine and lost seven in the 23 matches played against Senegal, dating back to 1965. In the last five matches, Togo have managed two wins, drawn twice and lost just once.
The Sparrow Hawks surprised many by reaching the 2006 World Cup, but their current squad is characterized by inconsistencies.
Sudan and South Sudan are not expected to offer much resistance. It is safe to say Senegal can go all the way.
GROUP C: Should Nigeria be worried about South Africa?
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John Obi Mikel of Nigeria during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group D match between Nigeria and Argentina at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 26, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
This is one of the groups with two teams having a realistic possibility of making it to the 2026 World Cup, the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana.
Nigeria have qualified for the World Cup on six occasions. They managed to get past the group stage three times, 1994, 1998, and 2014. The West Africans are not short of quality, but they end up disappointing. They have at times suffered shocking losses like the recent one against Guinea-Bissau.
It is the same case with South Africa. Despite qualifying for the 2023 AFCON, they unnecessarily dropped points like in the game against Liberia. Despite playing in three World Cups, Bafana Bafana have never made it past the group stage.
In the last three matches, either team has won once with the remaining one ending in a draw. Both South Africa and Nigeria have to be ruthless when playing the likes of Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho to stand a chance of qualifying.
Collecting maximum points against the four nations will be key for the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana.
The latter are riding high in confidence after defeating Morocco in their recent outing and their hungry squad can deliver. 50/50 chance for either Nigeria or South Africa.
GROUP D: Will Cape Verde frustrate Cameroon?
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Cameroon's midfielder Olivier Ntcham and teammates celebrate on the pitch after the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group G football match between Cameroon and Brazil at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on December 2, 2022.
In recent times, Cape Verde has been rising as far as African football is concerned. They are among the teams that have qualified for the 2023 AFCON.
They have lost once in the last three matches against the Indomitable Lions, with the remaining two games ending in draws.
Apart from Cameroon and Cape Verde, other teams in the group are Angola, Libya, Eswatini and Mauritius. The Indomitable Lions and the Black Antelopes of Angola have tasted the sweetness of the World Cup. While the latter have qualified just once, 2006, the former have made it to the competition eight times.
They were the first African team to play in the quarter-final during the 1990 edition. Sadly, they have never achieved that feat again. Despite their inconsistencies, Cameroon might just do enough to qualify for their ninth World Cup.
GROUP E: Morocco the undoubted winners
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Achraf Hakimi of Morocco controls the ball during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 3rd Place match between Croatia and Morocco at Khalifa International Stadium on December 17, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
The Atlas Lions landed what has been seen as the easiest route to the 2026 extravaganza in the football world.
The North Africans have been placed with Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger and Eritrea. The only team expected to offer a little resistance is Zambia. Chipolopolo are among the teams that have qualified for the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast. They won their last game in style against the Elephants to seal their place in the finals.
However, getting past Morocco, who became the first African nation to get into the World Cup semi-final, will be a tall order thanks to the quality within their squad.
The most recent meeting between the sides was in June 2019 during an international friendly and Zambia pulled a surprise 3-2 win.
Chipolopolo’s last win over the Atlas Lions in a competitive outing was way back in 1993, during a World Cup qualifier.
GROUP F: Gabon, the only obstacle on Ivory Coast’s way?
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Ecuele Manga of Gabon team celebrates with teammate after Adama Guira scored own goal during the Round 16 of Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 football match between Gabon and Burkina Faso at Limbe Stadium in Limbe on January 23, 2022.
In this group, the Elephants have been placed with Gabon, Kenya, Gambia, Burundi and Seychelles. To be sincere, on paper, only the Panthers have what it takes to stage any meaningful challenge.
The last time Ivory Coast played Gabon was on September 5, 2017 during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
The Panthers won 2-1 away after they had drawn 0-0 in the first meeting at home. Gabon have played Ivory Coast 16 times with the latter collecting nine wins and three draws.
The Elephants have enough quality to get their ticket, but should avoid complacency like in their loss against Zambia in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.
GROUP G: Another walk in the park for Algeria?
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Algeria's Players celebrate after scoring during the Group F match between Algeria and Niger at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Algiers, Algeria, March 23, 2023.
In recent years, Algeria has been grinding results seamlessly. Save for the 2021 AFCON, the North Africans have been ruthless in competitive assignments.
For instance, the Desert Warriors have not dropped a single point in the ongoing 2023 AFCON Qualifiers. They have collected five wins in as many matches, and are among the teams that have qualified.
Taking that into consideration, it is highly unlikely that Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana and Somalia can stop them.
GROUP H: Equatorial Guinea to challenge unpredictable Tunisia
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Equatorial Guinea's players celebrate after winning the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 round of 16 football match between Mali and Equatorial Guinea at Limbe Omnisport Stadium in Limbe on January 26, 2022.
If recent performances are anything to consider, then this group will have two horses, Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea.
In history, the two teams have met nine times; the Carthage Eagles have won five times, lost three matches and drawn once. Coincidentally, both were placed in Group J of the AFCON qualifiers.
Either team collected maximum points against each other at home. In the last four competitive encounters, they have met four times. Interestingly, they have canceled each other equally.
The race for the ticket might be won by the team that will collect the most points against the other members in the group: Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, and Sao Tome and Principe.
GROUP I: Between Mali and Ghana, who will have the last laugh?
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Ghana's midfielder #20 Mohammed Kudus celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between South Korea and Ghana at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha, on November 28, 2022.
The Black Stars of Ghana were among the five teams who played in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but fell in the first hurdle.
They have a chance of qualifying for the next edition, but first, they will have to go to Mali, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad.
Having qualified for the World Cup on four occasions, many would expect Ghana to easily make it through. But the Eagles have a quality squad that can make it to the biggest World Cup stage for the first time in their history.
Mali have proven in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers that they are ready to represent the continent in the world.
The latest meeting between the sides was on October 9, 2020 whereby Mali claimed a massive 3-0 win.