There are three gameweeks still to play in the group stage of the Africa World Cup qualifying campaign, and expect the continent's representatives for Canada-Mexico-USA next June to shape up over the rest of the international break.
This is ESPN's definitive explainer on everything you need to know for Africa World Cup qualifying; the Africa World Cup qualifying table, standings, rules, schedule and everything in between.
After seven matchdays, only one team -- Morocco -- have confirmed their place among the elite at next year's tournament, while both Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt and Tunisia will definitely - at worst - progress to the continental playoffs by virtue of their group position.
When and where is the next World Cup?
FIFA World Cup 26 is set to kick off on June 11 2026, and will run until July 19.
It's the first World Cup to take place across three countries - Canada, Mexico and the United States - with 16 cities hosting matches.
CAF's World Cup qualifying campaign began way back in November 2023, and will conclude in November this year, where one of Africa's representatives will proceed to an Inter-confederation play-off.
The Africa World Cup qualifying group stage programme will conclude on 14 October 2025, by which point, nine of Africa's qualifiers will be known.
How many African teams qualify for the World Cup?
For next year's tournament, Africa will boast a minimum of nine and a maximum of 10 teams, more than the continent has ever previously had representing it at a global showpiece.
For 2026, the competition has expanded from 32 teams previously to 48, with Africa's allocation increasing from five teams in 2022.
Until now, the most African teams who have been present in a single edition of the tournament was six in 2010, when hosts South Africa were added to the five regular qualifiers.
For 2026, nine representatives are guaranteed, and Africa will contribute one of the six teams set to contest the inter-confederation playoffs to decide the two final berths. Those matches will take place in the World Cup host nations.
Africa World Cup qualifying: How does it work?
The 53 African teams competing for places at the World Cup were drawn into nine groups of six, with countries playing each other home and away between November '23 and October '25.
The nine group winners will progress to the tournament itself, with the four best ranked runners-up contesting an African playoff to determine which of the quartet will advance to represent the continent in the inter-confederation playoffs.
For teams tied on points after all ten First Round matches have been played, groups will be sorted on goal difference, then goals scored, with head-to-head results only to be taken into account if teams are unable to be separated.
These African playoffs are set to take place in November this year, with teams set to meet in single-legged semifinals and then a final.
With an international break and a half still to go, Gabon, Cameroon, Senegal and Comoros are the four teams currently destined to progress to the Second Round as the four best-ranked runners-up.
CAF World Cup Qualifying Campaign: Standings | Complete Fixtures
Frank Leboeuf reacts to an impressive Spain performance as they demolish Türkiye 6-0 in World Cup qualifying.
Africa World Cup qualifying schedule
The group stage began during November 2023, with teams playing their first two matches over the final international break of the year.
The competition then resumed with another double gameweek in June 2024 -- only four months after the conclusion of the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast -- before attention turned to the AFCON 2026 qualifying programme during the second half of last year.
The First Round will come to an end in October, with the final double gameweek. The African playoffs will take place in November 2025, and it seems a relatively safe bet to assume that the inter-confederation playoffs will be held in March 2026.
First Round continues:
Gameweeks Seven-Eight: 1-9 September 2025
Gameweeks Nine-Ten: 6-14 October 2025
Second Round African playoff semifinals-final: 10-18
November 2025 Inter-confederation playoffs: TBC
Will we get a first-time qualifier?
Only four matches in, and with so much that can still change in the group standings, it's still early to predict the continent's World Cup representatives.
The expanded representation of 9.5 slots should certainly give encouragement to the continent's 'lesser lights' that they can capitalise on the increased opportunity and either end their wait for qualification or reach a maiden World Cup.
After four matches, group leaders Rwanda, Sudan and Comoros would all be first-time - and thoroughly unexpected - qualifiers, while the likes of Libya, Gabon and Mozambique are currently hot on the heels of their respective group leaders.
Can these minnows take a tighter grip on qualification across gameweeks five and six, or will any of these World Cup hopefuls drift out of contention?
Anything else you need to know?
Togo are the only former qualifiers already to be eliminated definitively from the campaign, while Chad, the Central African Republic, Sao Tome e Principe, Somalia, Gambia, Kenya, Seychelles, Congo-Brazzaville, Mauritius, Eswatini, Mauritania, South Sudan, Djibouti and Zimbabwe are the other sides out of the running for the World Cup.
Among the continent's true heavyweights, Nigeria remain in harm's way, despite a 1-0 victory over Rwanda in gameweek seven. The Super Eagles are six points behind Group C leaders South Africa with three to play, and surely need victory in Bloemfontein when they face Bafana Bafana away on Tuesday.
Even this would leave Nigeria with work to do to turn around the situation during the October international break, although South Africa are still to learn their fate and punishment after playing an ineligible player in their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in March.
If, as expected, FIFA decide to award Lesotho a 3-0 victory for that match, and dock Bafana three points, then the door could open for Nigeria - who took three points from their opening four matches - to seal unlikely progress.
Benin, on 11 points, and even eight-point Rwanda may yet have something to say during the group's nail biting denouement. Morocco have already advanced as Group E winners, although the fate of the second-placed team in this group - currently Tanzania - remains to be seen.
With Eritrea having been withdrawn from qualification, allegedly due to concerns that players would take the option of away matches to abscond from the camp and seek asylum, teams in this group are playing one match fewer than the others. It's hard to see how Tanzania - if they hold off Zambia and Niger to finish second - will have enough points to be competitive in the ranking of group runners-up.
CAF are yet to reveal how they will handle this imbalance between the groups. There's also been some controversy in Group H, where Equatorial Guinea's first two results - both 1-0 victories - were expunged and they were handed a pair of 3-0 defeats after the match-winner in both games, Emilio Nsue, was ruled to have been ineligible to compete.
That was in late 2023, but with Nsue now having officially completed his nationality switch from Spain, he returned to the field again, to attempt to salvage the Nzalang Nacional's campaign.
Victory over Sao Tome this week takes them up to 10 points after seven matches, and still in touching distance of progression, although they'd have been hot on the heels of leaders Tunisia had their original pair of victories stood. The Carthage Eagles travel to the Equatoguinean capital Malabo on Monday.