The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially announced the details for the final phase of Africa’s qualification journey to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion involving Nigeria and three other nations.
According to CAF’s outlined schedule, the playoff semi-finals will take place on November 13, 2025, followed by the final on November 16, 2025.
Seeding for the tournament draw will rely on the FIFA World Rankings for October 2025, set to be released on October 23.
Based on the rankings, the highest-ranked side among the four will face the lowest-ranked team, while the other two will meet in the second semi-final, in line with FIFA Regulations (Article 11.5).
According to the latest FIFA rankings, the top four teams currently occupying second place in their respective groups are as follows:
Nigeria – World Rank 45, Cameroon – World Rank 52, DR Congo – World Rank 60 Gabon – World Rank 79.
If the standings remain unchanged in the upcoming rankings, the matchups would see the highest-ranked team, Nigeria (45), taking on the fourth-ranked side, Gabon (79).
Meanwhile, Cameroon (52), the second-best among the runners-up, would face DR Congo (60), who sit third in the ranking
