World Cup qualifiers playoffs - Gabon have every chance of ending Nigeria's dream

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Africa's World Cup qualifying campaign has resulted in nine teams securing their places for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The expanded 48-team format has increased Africa's automatic qualifiers from five to nine, with an additional opportunity for one more team to qualify through playoffs.

The four best-placed runners-up from the African groups—Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria—will compete in a CAF playoff in November. The winner of this playoff will advance to the inter-confederation FIFA Play-Off Tournament in March, where they will compete against teams from AFC, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, and OFC for one of the final two World Cup spots.

The nine direct qualifiers include Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and first-time qualifiers Cape Verde, who will be the smallest African nation ever to feature at the World Cup. The runners-up were determined by normalizing group standings, excluding results against bottom-placed teams due to Eritrea's withdrawal from Group E.

Gabon led the runners-up with 19 points, narrowly missing direct qualification, while DR Congo last qualified in 1974. Cameroon and Nigeria, despite high expectations, will have to navigate the playoffs for a chance to secure Africa's potential tenth spot at the World Cup.