Morocco will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs, the Confederation of African Football, CAF, has officially confirmed.
The mini-tournament will determine Africa’s representative in the intercontinental play-offs for the 2026 World Cup.
The semi-final matches will be played on November 13, 2025, while the final is scheduled for November 16, 2025 both to be hosted in Morocco.
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Four best second-placed teams from the nine CAF qualifying groups after matchday 10 will take part in the competition.
CAF also announced that the October 2025 FIFA rankings, to be released on October 23, will determine the seeding for the draw.
The top-ranked team will face the fourth-best, while the second and third-ranked teams will clash in the other semi-final.
The winner of the Morocco playoffs will advance to the intercontinental play-offs in March 2026, where they will face opponents from Asia, South America, Oceania, or CONCACAF for a spot at the mundial.
6 Comments
A win will against Benin will put us at first or second for a place in the playoff after harnessing fewer point against bottom team Zimbabwe. The rule goes our way if We score goals again Benin regardless even if SA wins.
But we won’t be among the among the best runner up.
To be among best runner we need like 19 points.
Even with 10 African nations still Nigeria is about to miss out.
Wike, the team has been woeful.
If Nigeria beat Benin, they stay alive. If South Africa drop points, Nigeria top the group and qualify automatically. If South Africa win and Nigeria also win, Nigeria still reach the playoff if DR Congo fail to beat Sudan. If DR Congo win, Nigeria likely miss out unless they beat Benin by something like 3–0 to win the goal difference race. Niger and Madagascar are effectively out. Uganda would need a shock win in Algiers and even then their adjusted points and goal difference look too low. Gabon, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso are well placed.
This runners up math exists because Eritrea withdrew at the start, so CAF compares only second placed teams after removing results vs each group’s bottom side. It does not change any group winner.
Bottom line. Nigeria must win on Tuesday.
* Morocco is hosting the world cup playoffs (Africa)
* Morocco is hosting WAFCON three straight editions
* Morocco is co-hosting FIFA world cup 2030
* Morocco reached the semi finals of world cup only 3 years ago
* Morocco is hosting under 17 world cup for women every year now till 2029 (automatic qualification because of hosting rights)
* Morocco has just reached the semi finals of the FIFA under 20 men’s world cup that Nigeria with jaundiced crew and squad boasted about winning even with NFF-conspired and treacherous influence on dumb list.
* Morocco men is ranked number 11 by FIFA because of steady exploits. Nearest African is Senegal, number 18.
* Morocco has since qualified for 2026 world cup winning 7 out of 7 matches so far, scoring 21 goals and conceding only 2. 2030 will only be friendlies since they host
* Morocco is still not resting on their oars. What has Nigeria achieved to still be called African giants?
Isn’t it remarkable that the North African giants Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria also have since qualified for the world cup?
In fact, we don’t need to paper over our cracks. Nigeria is cracked and foundation is destroyed.
We are failing at the cadet levels already while some African nations are rising fast. No substitute to hard and smart work.
Let’s come off our trance. Pot C or D suits us fine. Let it be our reality check. Maybe it will jolt us to be awakened but IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICK.
This house (Nigerian football) has sunk! Even foreign born pros now avoid us as a plague so we keep using the tired, worn out available ones that are nearing their sell by date and we are at their mercy perpetually.
It serves us right.
Let’s see our scorecard at all levels. Even in women’s football, we are barely surviving to stay on top.
Imagine Waldrum didn’t bring or convince some girls to join us. Is it Rivers Angels or Bayelsa Queens, scratch that, is it not nepotism list as seen in the flamingoes squad we would be using to prosecute our matches and perish too from reckoning. Aha, I remember Ijalumisi.
Don’t get me wrong, the babe is good but on the Continental stage, the exposure, Falcons would have folded
NFF would have killed falcons with half baked home based players, more so after the mutiny at the 2023 women’s world cup.
But falcons is their cash cow because Waldrum, love him or hate him, saved us from ourselves.
Since then, whom have we incorporated into the team? The sight of us huffing and puffing against Algeria at the last WAFCON group stage ha!
Now, flamingoes, the feeder team has been bastardized with nepotism and under 17 world cup is every year till 2029. Hmm!
#NFFOut to save our football at all levels.
Zubairu, Nigeria under 20 team coach, Morocco just qualified for the final. Since NFF and its technical committee have a legitimate reason to still hang around glasshouse because of Eagles playoffs, they might as well meet next week to re-organize our coaching structure.
Morocco is definitely preparing for tomorrow. Hosting world cups and getting automatic qualification in the process is a leaf a serious football administration should have positioned our football to gain too.
Morocco women national team once hired multiple Women UCL winner as coach and currently have the 2023 World cup champions as coach.
I will not be surprised if they are first time WAFCON winners next March. They mean business in all their soccer levels.
The men’s team played 8 2026 WC qualifiers and won all, even the ones played on maybe rugby pitches.
I can’t tell offhand Nigerian scorecard or vision for next 5 years.
The Arabs are leaving us behind for a good reason: vision, long term.
What’s our drive? Nepotism? Foreign born pros? Nigerian spirit on rocked foundation?