Four into one - how do African World Cup play-offs work?

"Four contenders will be reduced to one in African play-offs for the 2026 Fifa World Cup over this international window. After missing out on the continent's nine automatic qualification spots, Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon and Nigeria travel to Morocco for a winner-takes-all mini-tournament. But, depending on their world ranking, the victorious nation faces one or two more matches in order to reach next year's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. BBC Sport Africa explains how this stage works - and what comes next."

"The quartet reached this stage as the four best second-placed finishers across Africa's nine World Cup qualifying groups. Results against the sixth-placed side in eight of those groups were discounted because Eritrea withdrew on the eve of competition, leaving Group E with only five teams. Gabon had the best record, followed by DR Congo and then Cameroon. Nigeria only just sneaked in to the play-offs on goal difference, with Frank Onyeka's 91st-minute volley in their 4-0 win over Benin edging out Burkina Faso by a single goal."

"The Fifa world rankings were used to work out the pairings for the semi-finals, with the highest-ranked side facing the lowest-ranked. As a result, Nigeria (41st in the world) will play Gabon (77th) on Thursday (16:00 GMT) before Cameroon (54th) take on DR Congo (60th) later the same day (19:00 GMT). The semi-final winners will face off on Sunday (19:00 GMT) for the chance to keep alive their dream of reaching next year's World Cup. All three matches will be held in the Moroccan capital Rabat."

Four teams — Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon and Nigeria — will compete in a single-elimination mini-tournament in Rabat to determine Africa's play-off winner for 2026 World Cup qualification. The quartet qualified as the four best second-placed finishers across Africa's nine qualifying groups, with results against sixth-placed teams excluded in eight groups after Eritrea's withdrawal. Gabon had the best record, followed by DR Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria, who advanced on goal difference thanks to Frank Onyeka's 91st-minute volley. Fifa world rankings determined semi-final pairings: Nigeria v Gabon and Cameroon v DR Congo. The winner advances to a six-team intercontinental qualifier in March 2026.

Read at www.bbc.com