The 2026 FIFA World Cup Group stage draw will take place today at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C, Soccernet.ng reports.
42 teams have already qualified directly for the 2026 Mundial, while another six spots await teams that’ll make it through the play-off spots.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have failed to qualify for consecutive editions of the FIFA World Cup, and will be watching from home as other African countries represent the continent on North American soil next year.
Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, South Africa, Cape Verde and Ghana have already qualified for the tournament, while DR Congo can still join if they make it through the play-offs in March 2026.
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Africa’s most successful World Cup teams
Since the first World Cup tournament was hosted in Uruguay, 1930, 13 different African nations have participated in the competition, and with Cape Verde set for a debut next year, a 14th African country will enter the fray.
Egypt broke the continent’s jinx in 1934, and it took another 36 years before another African country qualified for the World Cup.
Morocco made their debut in 1970, DR Congo in 1974, while Tunisia came on board four years later. Algeria and Cameroon also made their first appearances at the Mundial in 1982.
Nigeria’s debut came in 1994, while South Africa’s maiden showdown surfaced four years later. Other African countries made their World Cup debut in the 21st century, namely; Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Angola, and Togo. Cape Verde will join the list next year.
Super Eagles more successful than South Africa and Ivory Coast, despite 2026 absence
Bafana Bafana hosted the 2010 World Cup, becoming the first African nation to achieve such a feat, but it took another 16 years to get back after missing three World Cups.
Ivory Coast came back from the dead at the AFCON 2023 tournament to clinch the title on home soil, and the reigning African champions are keen on making their mark beyond the shores of Africa.
Although Nigeria fell short of reaching the World Cup, their history in the tournament remains a notable achievement, as a majority of their rivals have yet to reach.
Morocco became the first-ever African team to reach the semi-final of the tournament in Qatar, eventually clinching fourth place, raising the bar for everyone.
Before that, only Ghana (2010), Senegal (2002), and a Roger Milla-inspired Cameroon (1994) had reached the World Cup quarter-finals.
Away from those four, only two other nations; Nigeria and Algeria, have reached the round of 16 at a World Cup.
The Algerians achieved the feat just once at the 2014 FIFA World Cup when they took Joachim Low’s Germany to extra time. The Germans eventually won that edition of the tournament.
On the other hand, the Super Eagles have achieved the feat three times. Their debut campaign, under Coach Clemens Westerhof, saw Nigeria miss out on a quarter-final spot to ten-man Italy, who advanced, thanks to a brace from Roberto Baggio.
Nigeria repeated the feat in 1998, only to lose to Denmark, and in 2014, to France. Having reached the second round three times, the three-time AFCON winners boast the fifth-best record of African teams in World Cup history.
South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire have both exited the tournament in the first round every time they competed, but that could change next summer.