Things are heating up and will seemingly go down to the wire in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, as only two teams have up to now booked their tickets to Canada, Mexico and the US next year, with just two games remaining to be played in all 10 African groups.
A total of nine Confederation of African Football (CAF) group winners will be guaranteed automatic qualification.
Morocco and Tunisia have taken their spots already after they sealed qualifications.
The four best runners-up in each group will then partici-pate in an intercontinental playoff for the possibility of securing a 10th spot at the global showpiece.
This particular World Cup will be one for the books, as it will see 48 nations battling it out for the most prestigious international trophy hosted by three countries from June 11 to July 19 next year.
Now, after what was a pulsating and action-packed Fifa international break last week, several teams seem to stand a good chance to seal the deal in the next round of matches set to be played early October and join the two North African teams.
South Africa:
Even though Nigeria and other teams in Bafana’s group are still fussing about the Teboho Mokoena saga, the world football-governing body hinted on their socials last week that the case has been put to bed and Bafana are on track to make it.
“Two more teams could secure Fifa World Cup 2026 qualification today. Egypt will qualify if they beat Burkina Faso, while South Africa will qualify if they beat Nigeria and Benin fails to beat Lesotho,” Fifa wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Bafana will play their last two games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda at home, and a win in both matches will confirm their first historic qualification to the World Cup since 2002.
Egypt:
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and Egypt are close and one win away from punching their ticket to the World Cup.
They lead Burkina Faso with five points in Group A and could wrap up the group if they beat bottom-of-the-table Djibouti.
Senegal:
After their fighting spirit they showed against DR Congo last week, Senegal may just have an edge over the Congolese, despite being separated by only two points in their group.
Senegal produced an emphatic comeback away from home in Kinshasa when they overturned a two-goal deficit at halftime and won the game 3-2 in the second.
They face South Sudan and Mauritania in their last two matches, which they are expected to win given their quality.
Cape Verde:
The darlings of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast last year have done the unthinkable at these ongoing qualifiers, as they are on top of their group ahead of powerhouse Cameroon.
The Islanders are also one victory away from making history when they travel to go up against a tricky Libyan side on October 6.
Other teams include Algeria, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast, who are also on top of their respective groups, while Gabon is currently leading the play-offs group.
