Morocco to host African World Cup playoffs

Morocco will host Africa’s four-team World Cup playoffs next month which offer the possibility of an additional place at next year’s finals in North America, the Confederation of African Football has confirmed.

All winners of the nine African qualifying groups advance to the finals in Canada, Mexico and the US next June, but there is also a route for a potential extra place for one of the four best runners-up.

They will play a mini tournament in Morocco in November to determine a single team that will go on to compete in an inter-continental playoff in March for a place in the 48-team field at the 2026 World Cup.

The identity of the four teams for next month’s initial African playoff will only be finalised when the group fixtures conclude on Tuesday.

They will play two semi-finals in Morocco on November 13, at venues still to be confirmed, and then a final on November 16.

The teams will be paired according to their position in the next FIFA rankings, to be issued on October 23, with the highest-ranked side taking on the lowest and the second-highest taking on the third-highest.

FOUR COUNTRIES ALREADY QUALIFIED

Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria have all qualified for the World Cup with games to spare and home success for Ghana later on Sunday will see them add their name to the list.

On Monday, Cape Verde can qualify with a win in their fixture at home while the Ivory Coast and Senegal can join them on Tuesday if they do the same.

In Group C, however, there are various permutations with Benin, Nigeria and South Africa all in the running when they play their last games on Tuesday.

Morocco will host the Africa Cup of Nations from December 21 to January 18 and co-host the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.

The north African kingdom is also hosting next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the third successive time, plus the U-17 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off next Friday.

The country also regularly stages other continental footballing events and allows its stadiums to be used by countries whose own infrastructure is considered unfit for use in international competition.

The lavish spend on sporting events and infrastructure was the touchpaper for youth-led unrest in Morocco earlier this month.