The Confederation of African Football (CAF) play-off for the 2026 World Cup will involve the four best runners-up from the initial group stage to be held in November 2025.
The winner of this knockout tournament will advance to the final inter-Confederation play-off for an additional chance at qualification.
Here is a breakdown of how the CAF play-off will be played:
TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE PARTICIPANTS
The four best teams that finished second in their respective qualifying groups will enter the play-off.
RANKING
The four teams will be ranked based on the FIFA rankings released at the end of October 2025.
SEMI-FINALS
The semi-final matchups will be determined by this ranking:
MATCH 1
The highest-ranked team will play the lowest-ranked team
MATCH 2
The second highest-ranked team will play the third highest-ranked team
FINAL
Winners of the two semi-final matches will play each other
VENUE
All play-off games will be one-off and played on neutral ground in Morocco
THE INTER-CONFEDERATION PLAY-OFF
The winner of the CAF playoff will not automatically qualify for the World Cup. Instead, it will represent Africa in a final six-team inter-Confederation play-off tournament in March 2026.
This tournament will determine the final two spots at the World Cup.
The six teams in this final tournament will include one team from AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC as well as two from CONCACAF.
The two highest-ranked teams will receive a bye while the four lower-ranked teams will play two semi-final matches. The winners of those matches will then face the two higher-ranked teams in a final, with the winners of those two games earning a place in the World Cup.
