Madagascar is placed in hat 3, according to the new ranking published by Fifa on Thursday. The draw for the Africa zone qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will take place on July 12.
New episode. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has set the date of the draw for the African zone qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup for July 12. The African body announced the news, during the meeting of the members of its Executive Committee, this Thursday in Algeria. The official draw ceremony will take place on the sidelines of the 45th Ordinary General Assembly of Caf to be held on July 12 and 13, in Cotonou, Benin. The Africa zone qualifiers will involve the fifty-four member associations of Caf. The new format of the African zone qualifiers is adapted to the expanded format of the FIFA World Cup. The fifty-four member countries of the pan-African body will be divided into nine groups. The new world ranking of national teams, published by Fifa on Thursday, was used to determine the hats for the African qualifying draw. Madagascar, which has just gained three places and is currently ranked 107th in the world, is placed in hat 3. The Big Island has been ranked 24th on the continent since Thursday.
Top 30
The other eight countries that make up Hat 3 are Uganda, Benin, Mauritania, Kenya, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Angola. The African top 9 forming pot 1, in order of ranking, is Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. The nine countries making up the six pots will be drawn one by one to form the nine groups of six for the Africa zone qualifiers. The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The four best runners-up from the groups will play in a Caf play-off tournament. The winner of the play-off tournament will then participate in the FIFA play-off tournament. The latter still counts in the qualification for the 2026 World Cup. At least nine African countries will obtain the ticket for the next World Cup which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Distribution of hats
Pot 1: Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Ivory Coast
Pot 2: Burkina Faso, Ghana, South Africa, Cape Verde, RC Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
Hat 3: Uganda, Benin, Mauritania, Kenya, Congo, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Angola
Hat 4: Mozambique, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Malawi, Libya
Pot 5: Niger, Comoros, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia
Pot 6: Lesotho, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia