Morocco will host the African play-offs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Morocco will host the four-team 2026 FIFA World Cup play-offs in Africa next month, offering the possibility of an extra place at next year’s finals in North America, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed.

All winners of the nine African qualifying groups will progress to the finals in Canada, Mexico and the US next June, but there is also a route for a potential extra place for one of the top four runners-up.

They will play a mini-tournament in Morocco in November to determine one team that will compete in an intercontinental play-off in March for a place in the 48-team field at the 2026 World Cup.

The identities of the four teams for next month’s first African play-off will only be finalized when the group matches are completed on Tuesday.

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They will play two semi-finals in Morocco on November 13, at venues to be confirmed, and then a final on November 16.

The teams will be paired based on their position in the next FIFA rankings, which will be published on October 23, with the highest-ranked side pitted against the lowest and the second-highest against the third-highest.

FOUR COUNTRIES HAVE ALREADY QUALIFIED

Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria have all qualified for the World Cup with matches still to play and home success for Ghana will add their names to the list later on Sunday.

Cape Verde can qualify on Monday with a home win, while Ivory Coast and Senegal can join on Tuesday if they do the same.

In Group C, however, there are several permutations with Benin, Nigeria and South Africa all in contention when they play their final matches on Tuesday.

Morocco will host the Africa Cup of Nations from December 21 to January 18 and will host the 2030 World Cup together with Portugal and Spain.

The North African kingdom will also host the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations next year for the third time in a row, plus the U-17 Women’s World Cup, which starts next Friday.

The country also regularly hosts other continental football events and allows its stadiums to be used by countries whose own infrastructure is deemed unsuitable for use in international competitions.

Lavish spending on sporting events and infrastructure sparked youth-led unrest in Morocco earlier this month.

Published on October 12, 2025