The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will today Thursday, 13 July conduct the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, a few hours after the 45th Ordinary Assembly.
All the teams will be divided into nine groups with the winners automatically qualifying for the World Cup in 2026. The four best runners-up from across the nine groups will play a CAF Play-Off tournament whereas the winner will qualify for the FIFA Play-Off tournament.
Zambia is in Pot 2 alongside Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
However, there is a possibility that they will face one of the ten sides in Pot 1 which comprises African heavyweights. Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Mali are all possible opponents for the Chipolopolo Boys.
Draw procedure
Teams will be drawn into nine groups of six teams and play home-and-away round-robin matches from November 2023 to October 2025.
The Groups will contain one nation from each pot (Pot 1-6). The nine group winners will qualify for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The best four group runners-up enter play-offs and winners qualify for the inter-confederation tournament.
Below are the pots
Pot 1: Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, Ivory Coast
Pot 2: Ghana, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
Pot 3: Angola, Benin, Kenya, Mauritania, Congo, Uganda, Madagascar, Guinea Bissau, Namibia
Pot 4: Mozambique, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Malawi, Libya
READ MORE: FIFA releases eight alternative armbands for the Women’s World Cup
Pot 5: Niger, Comoros, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia
Pot 6: Lesotho, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, Sao Tome, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia
