Ammon News - The Confederation of African Football (CAF) playoffs begin on Thursday with four teams – Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – slugging it out to decide which nation will progress to the FIFA intercontinental playoff tournament in March, which is the final hurdle for qualification into the World Cup 2026 in North America.

The four teams were the best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups – and the playoff winner will keep alive their nation’s hopes of becoming the continent’s 10th representative at next year’s finals.

Where are the African playoffs being held?
Morocco’s capital Rabat will host the African World Cup playoffs, using three different stadiums for the three matches.

Al Barid Stadium and Moulay El Hassan Stadium will be used for the semifinals.

The newly built Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which will host the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final on January 18, will be the venue for the CAF playoff final.

What time do the African playoff matches start?
The two sudden-death semifinal playoffs will be played at the following times:

Nigeria vs Gabon: Thursday, November 13 at 5pm (16:00 GMT) at Moulay El Hassan Stadium
Cameroon vs Congo DR: Thursday, November 13 at 8pm (19:00 GMT) at Al Barid Stadium
The winner-take-all final will be played at the following time:

CAF final (Teams TBD): Sunday, November 16 at 8pm local (19:00 GMT) at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
How was the draw made for the CAF playoff matches?
The draw was based on the current FIFA world rankings of the four teams as of October 17.

Nigeria was ranked highest (#41), followed by Cameroon (#54), Congo DR (#60) and Gabon (#77).

Based on the rankings, FIFA implemented a No.1 (Nigeria) vs No.4 seed (Gabon) matchup for the first semifinal and a No.2 (Cameroon) vs No.3 (Congo DR) second semi.


What does the African playoff winner still need to do for World Cup qualification?
The winner of Sunday’s CAF playoff must still overcome teams from other continents in a FIFA intercontinental playoff scheduled for March in Mexico to decide the final two qualifiers for the World Cup.

The intercontinental playoff will feature two teams from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and one team apiece from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).

How many African nations have already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
Nine African countries have already qualified via direct entry from the CAF group stage: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.

When and where is the FIFA World Cup 2026?
The tournament is being staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The first match will be played in Mexico City on June 11, while the final will be staged in New Jersey, the US, on July 19.

Due to the expansion of the tournament – from 32 teams to 48 – the 39-day event is the longest in its history.

What are the African squads for the CAF playoffs?
Cameroon:
Goalkeepers:
Andre Onana (Trabzonspor, Turkiye), Devis Epassy (Dinamo Bucuresti, Romania), Simon Omossola (Saint-Eloi Lupopo, Congo)

Defenders:
Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui (Beijing Guoan, China), Nouhou Tolo (Seattle Sounders, US), Jean-Charles Castelletto (Al-Duhail, Qatar), Jackson Tchatchoua (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Darlin Yongwa (Lorient, France), Flavien Enzo Boyomo (Osasuna, Spain), Aboubakar Nagida (Rennes, France), Malcom Bokele (Goztepe, Turkiye)

Midfielders:
Frank Anguissa (Napoli, Italy), Martin Hongla (Granada, Spain), Jean Onana (Genoa, Italy), Yvan Neyou (Getafe, Spain), Carlos Baleba (Brighton & Hove Albion, England), Arthur Avom (Lorient, France), Wilitty Younoussa (Rodez, France)

Forwards:
Akor Adams (Sevilla, Spain), Tolu Arokodare (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham, England), Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla, Spain), Ademola Lookman (Atalanta, Italy), Olakunle Olusegun (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, Turkiye), Moses Simon (Paris FC, France)