Despite appearing to be a long way off in the distance, the path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin for certain national sides in 2023, with the African (CAF) qualification campaign kicking off in November 2023.
The 2026 tournament will break new ground as a tri-hosted version of the competition, with the USA, Canada and Mexico all staging games, and Africa’s major powers will be hoping to make an impact.
After Morocco made history by becoming the first African side to reach the semifinals in 2022, there is renewed hope of barriers being broken and challenges being laid down to rivals in Europe and South America.
Morocco are currently the highest-ranked African team with other World Cup regulars including Senegal and Tunisia also in the qualification mix for 2026.
MORE: When does 2026 World Cup qualifying start?
The CAF World Cup qualifying groups are divided into nine, from A to I, with the top team from each group at the end of qualification receiving an automatic spot at the 2026 World Cup.
The four best-ranked second-place teams from the nine groups will go into the playoff round, including one leg semifinals and a final, to determine the 10th African qualifier.
The CAF World Cup 2026 qualification calendar is spread across 10 matchdays with an extra combined dates for the playoff semifinals and final.
CAF will confirm full details on fixtures in due course.
Feargal is a content producer for The Sporting News.

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