The race for the 2026 FIFA World Cup intensifies as four African nations—Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria—compete in a high-stakes play-off tournament in Morocco. Having missed out on the continent’s nine automatic qualification spots, these teams will face off in a winner-takes-all mini-tournament to secure their chance to advance further. The victorious team will still need to navigate one or two additional matches to reach the global tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The quartet earned their place in the play-offs as the best second-placed finishers across Africa’s nine qualifying groups, with Gabon leading the pack, followed by DR Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria. The semi-final pairings were determined by FIFA world rankings, with Nigeria (41st) set to face Gabon (77th), and Cameroon (54th) taking on DR Congo (60th) on Thursday. The winners will clash on Sunday for the opportunity to keep their World Cup dreams alive. All matches will be held in Rabat, Morocco. The African play-off winner will progress to a six-team intercontinental qualifier in March 2026, where they will compete against teams from Concacaf, Asia, Oceania, and South America for the final two World Cup spots. The draw for the intercontinental play-offs, featuring single-leg knockout matches, will take place on November 20. Nigeria, despite being the highest-ranked team, had a challenging qualifying campaign, while Cameroon, DR Congo, and Gabon aim to overcome their own struggles to secure a historic berth in the 2026 World Cup.