With just one round of fixtures left in the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the race for the play-off spots remains fiercely contested.
Ahead of Tuesday’s decisive matches, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has updated the provisional ranking of the best second-placed teams.
Gabon currently lead the standings with 16 points from seven matches, putting them in pole position to secure a play-off berth.
Behind them, a tight battle is unfolding between several nations separated by the smallest of margins.
Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Niger all sit on 15 points after eight games, while the Democratic Republic of Congo trail closely with 13 points from seven matches.
The complete ranking of the best runners-up stands as follows:
- Gabon – 16 pts (7 matches)
- Cameroon – 15 pts (8 matches)
- Burkina Faso – 15 pts (8 matches)
- Niger – 15 pts (8 matches)
- DR Congo – 13 pts (7 matches)
- Madagascar – 13 pts (8 matches)
- Uganda – 12 pts (7 matches)
- South Africa – 11 pts (7 matches)
- Namibia – 9 pts (8 matches)
According to CAF regulations, the four best second-placed teams across all qualifying groups will advance to a play-off tournament, which will consist of two semi-finals and a final.
The winner of that final will then move on to represent Africa in the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off Tournament, where a final World Cup spot will be at stake.
In a recent adjustment, CAF confirmed that results against the bottom-placed teams in each group have been excluded from the evaluation of second-placed teams.
The decision, aimed at ensuring fairness across groups of varying competitiveness, has led to a reshuffling of the standings and intensified the race heading into the final day.
This recalculation means that every point gained against higher-ranked opposition carries greater weight, adding further pressure to the nations hoping to keep their World Cup dreams alive.
As the qualifying campaign nears its conclusion, Gabon remain the most consistent of the contenders, but the narrow margins below them suggest dramatic shifts could still occur after Tuesday’s fixtures.
With World Cup qualification on the line, every match, goal, and point now holds monumental significance.
