2026 World Cup qualifying recap: Groups A-C

A busy international break saw 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying surpass the halfway point in the African region and now the picture is clearer. Many nations increased their chances of qualifying for the world's biggest football event while some took major hits to their hopes. Below, we look at which teams improved their chances as well as the teams who did poorly in Groups A, B and C.

Click here to read about Groups D, E and F

Click here to read about Groups G, H and I

Group A

Group A Table (6 matches played)

• The group winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Four of the nine group runners-up qualify for a playoff to determine Africa's representative at the intercontinental qualifying playoff.

Stock Up 🔼: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone

• Egypt continue to dominate the group and it looks like nobody will be able to catch the Pharaohs. With Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush leading the attack and a defense that remains reliable, all the pieces are there for Hossam Hassan's team to have big ambitions for the Africa Cup of Nations at the end of the year as well as the World Cup.

• Burkina Faso needed six points this week and the Stallions got the job done. Second place is there for the taking and despite lacking a suitable home venue for international matches, Burkina Faso were always the favorites to claim second place. Now they must accumulate as many points as they can in matches where they do not face Egypt to be one of the four group runners-up who advance to the playoff.

• Sierra Leone played excellently considering they lacked many European-based stars. New coach Mohamed Kallon made a brilliant move to call in domestic-based players ahead of the international break and the added team chemistry was crucial in a victory over Guinea-Bissau. They also kept their away match at Egypt close and positive signs are there for the future.

Stock Down 🔽: Guinea-Bissau

Os Djurtus' World Cup hopes took a decisive blow this week and it all started against Sierra Leone. More talented than the Leone Stars on paper, the Lusophone nation essentially gave the match away with two terrible errors in the defense that directly led to a deficit they could not recover from. More poor defending allowed Burkina Faso to escape Bissau with all three points and now their qualifying ambitions are all but finished.

Goal of the Week: Abubeker Nasir- Ethiopia vs Djibouti

Group B

Group B Table

Stock Up 🔼: DR Congo

A firm defense is crucial in qualifying campaigns for major tournaments and the Congolese team continues to show a high level of stability under coach Sébastien Desabre and captain Chancel Mbemba. The attack did not function at its highest level but the goal was achieved this week with victories over South Sudan and Mauritania. The second victory in Mauritania was impressive since the Leopards did not play their best but still got the result in a hostile environment.

Stock Down 🔽: Sudan

The absence of star playmaker Mohamed Abdelrahman was crucial for Sudan this week, who lacked the attacking bite needed as two matches ended in draws at their adopted home of Benghazi, Libya.

Unable to threaten Senegal in a 0-0 draw that was not a particularly bad result, the real damage came in a 1-1 result against rivals South Sudan who have little to play for other than pride. Now with DR Congo and Senegal ahead of them, this week could be the moment where Sudan's World Cup hopes took a fatal blow.

Goal of the Week: Théo Bongonda- DR Congo vs South Sudan

Group C

Group C Table

Stock Up 🔼: South Africa

Everything went to plan for head coach Hugo Broos and his Bafana Bafana team who defeated Lesotho at home as expected before delivering an excellent performance away to beat Benin 2-0. Everything is fine on the pitch for the group leaders but an oversight may cause a setback.

Midfielder Teboho Mokoena played against Lesotho when he should have been suspended for yellow card accumulation. While South Africa escaped immediate punishment due to the Lesotho FA's failure to file a protest within the proper time window, Bafana Bafana could very well have three points deducted once the predicted legal challenges take place.

Stock Down 🔽: Nigeria, Benin, Rwanda

• Three home matches...three draws. An absolutely unacceptable record for a Nigeria team who were the favorites to conquer Group C and directly qualify for the World Cup. Leave it to the ever streaky Super Eagles to raise hopes with an excellent victory away from home in Rwanda before losing the plot to concede late in a 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe. Nigeria will need South Africa to be docked points for the Mokoena issue because they have completely squandered this campaign so far.

  
  

• Benin had high hopes of potentially becoming the group leaders but this Cheetahs team just doesn't look good enough. A brilliant start saw them waste a two-goal lead to draw Zimbabwe and South Africa completely dominated them in Abidjan. Benin usually have a capable and decent team but lack the star power to overcome Africa's top teams, something that will likely doom their hopes of qualifying for a first-ever World Cup.

• Rwanda are in a similar situation to Benin. Amavubi has a strong defense and the ability to scrap points off more regarded opponents like Nigeria and South Africa. However, when it comes to imposing themselves against a team like Lesotho they cannot achieve the victories they need.

Goal of the Week: Victor Osimhen- Nigeria vs Rwanda