Only Three Left! Five African Countries Fighting for Tickets to the 2026 World Cup

Gilabola.com – Five African countries — giants such as Senegal, Nigeria and Ivory Coast along with two potential debutants, Benin and Gabon, are ready to fight it out Tuesday night for the final three tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Group C: Fierce duel between Benin, Nigeria and South Africa

The hottest battle took place in Group C, where Benin was determined to snatch the automatic ticket from Nigeria. Benin coach, Gernot Rohr, who took Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup, is very confident.

“We still have to do something big against Nigeria,” he said. “Everything is still possible for South Africa, Nigeria and us. Destiny is in our hands.”

Benin leads the standings after FIFA imposed heavy sanctions on South Africa. The Bafana Bafana team lost three points and were given a 0-3 goal penalty for fielding an illegal player last March during a 2-0 win over Lesotho.

That result changed everything. Benin then narrowly won 1-0 in Rwanda, while South Africa were held 0-0 by Zimbabwe. Nigeria kept their chances alive with a 2-1 win over Lesotho.

To qualify automatically, Nigeria must win convincingly at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, while hoping that South Africa fails to beat Rwanda in Mbombela.

“We have to focus on our own game,” said Nigeria coach Eric Chelle. Team captain William Troost-Ekong added, “We have been swimming against the current during these qualifiers, but we have a chance and will give it our all.”

South Africa Hit by Sanctions

South Africa are actually in an ideal position after eight games — three points ahead of Benin and with a better goal difference. However, FIFA sanctions changed the group’s power map. Their points fell from 17 to 14, making Benin’s position better.

“We are no longer in control,” complained coach Hugo Broos. “We can only win against Rwanda and hope for a miracle.”

Group F: Crying Beach and Fate of Destiny

In Group F, Ivory Coast will host Kenya at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Embimpé. The home team only needs to match the result of Gabon, who will face Burundi, to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

Unfortunately, Gabon had to play without mainstay star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who was sent off in the match against Gambia last October 10.

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé emphasized that his team must be very alert. “This is a crucial match. We haven’t been to the World Cup since 2014. We respect Kenya, but will play with a positive mentality,” he said.

Group B: Senegal on the verge of qualifying

Meanwhile in Group B, Senegal leads the standings with a two-point advantage over DR Congo. Senegal will host Mauritania at the Stade Abdoulaye Wade, Dakar, while DRC face Sudan at the Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa.

Senegal only need to match DRC’s result to guarantee a ticket to their second consecutive World Cup. But if Mauritania pulls off a surprise and the DRC win, history could be made: the Democratic Republic of Congo returns to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when the country was still called Zaire.