The ultimate guide to the 2026 World Cup CAF play-offs: fixtures, schedule, and qualification path explained

The long road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup reaches a dramatic climax for four of Africa’s footballing powerhouses. In a high-stakes, winner-takes-all mini-tournament, Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, and Gabon will collide in Rabat, Morocco.

This centralized play-off event, scheduled from Thursday, 13 November to Sunday, 16 November 2025, represents the final, dramatic opportunity for these nations to keep their World Cup dreams alive.

After failing to secure direct qualification through the group stage, this tournament serves as a high-pressure second chance.

What are the stakes?

The stakes are immense: the winner of this three-match tournament will not receive a direct ticket to the World Cup. Instead, they will capture Africa’s possible 10th and last pathway —a single, coveted slot in the FIFA Inter-Continental Play-Off Tournament scheduled for March 2026.

The Four CAF Playoffs Contenders:

The four participants in this “Second Round” play-off are not randomly selected. They are the four best group runners-up from the first round of CAF qualifying, which consisted of nine separate groups.

1- Nigeria (Group C Runner-Up).

2- Cameroon (Group D Runner-Up).

3- DR Congo (Group B Runner-Up).

4- Gabon (Group F Runner-Up).

The nine group winners who have already booked their tickets to the World Cup are: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.

CAF Play-off Match Schedule & Fixtures (November 2025)

All matches for the CAF Play-off will be held in a centralized mini tournament in Rabat, Morocco. The pairings for the semi-finals were not determined by a random draw but were seeded based on the FIFA World Ranking issued on 17 October 2025.

The Seeding:

• Seed 1: Nigeria (Ranked #41)
• Seed 2: Cameroon (Ranked #54)
• Seed 3: DR Congo (Ranked #60)
• Seed 4: Gabon (Ranked #77)

The tournament structure paired Seed 1 against Seed 4, and Seed 2 against Seed 3, resulting in two blockbuster semi-final clashes.

CAF World Cup 2026 Play-off: Full Fixture Schedule

Tournament Rules:

This competition is a pure knockout format, leaving no margin for error.

• All three matches (two semi-finals and one final) are single-leg ties.
• If any match is level after 90 minutes of regulation time, the winner will be decided by 30 minutes of extra time, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary.
• The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be in operation for all matches.

The Final Hurdle: The FIFA Inter-Continental Play-Off (March 2026)

This is the true final stage of qualification, where the winner of the Rabat tournament will face teams from other confederations.

• When: This global play-off is scheduled for the March 2026 international window.
• Who: It will be a six-team tournament featuring one nation from five different confederations. The participants will be:
  • 1 team from CAF (the winner of the Nigeria/Cameroon/DR Congo/Gabon tournament)
  • 1 team from CONMEBOL (South America – e.g., Bolivia)
  • 1 team from AFC (Asia – e.g., Iraq or United Arab Emirates)
  • 1 team from OFC (Oceania – e.g., New Caledonia)
  • 2 teams from Concacaf (North & Central America)
• The Goal: These six nations will compete for the final two remaining qualification spots at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The format of this six-team tournament is what makes the Rabat play-off so critical. The six teams will be ranked according to the FIFA World Ranking.

1. The two highest-ranked teams will be seeded and receive a bye directly into a “bracket final”.
2. The four lowest-ranked teams will play in two “bracket semi-finals”.
3. The winner of each semi-final will then play one of the seeded teams in a final.
4. The winners of the two bracket finals will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Given the FIFA rankings of the teams in the Rabat play-off (Nigeria #41, Cameroon #54) and the other likely participants from confederations like OFC (New Caledonia, ranked much lower), the African representative is almost guaranteed to be one of the two seeded teams.

This means the “prize” for winning in Rabat is not just a place in the global play-off, but a seeded place. The winner of the CAF final on 16 November will likely skip the semi-final round in March 2026 and be placed just one single, 90-minute victory away from securing a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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