Morocco Faces Zambia Challenge in 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Group

The opponent who seems the most formidable for a direct qualification will be Zambia, a former African champion (2012), who had already given the Moroccans trouble during the qualifications for the 1994 World Cup. At the time, Zambia, led by Kalusha Bwaliya, had lost in Casablanca, following a goal by Laghrissi.

In addition to Zambia, Morocco will face Eritrea, Niger, Tanzania and Congo. The Moroccan national team, a semi-finalist in the last World Cup (Qatar 2022), is well positioned for a seventh World Cup qualification.

In other groups, high-level matches are expected, with notably a group including Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire and Gambia. Mali seems to have had less luck, having inherited Ghana, the best team in pot 2. The group of Senegal is also considered very competitive, with DR Congo, Mauritania and Togo.

The 2026 World Cup is undergoing an important change, with 48 teams for the first time instead of the usual 32, offering Africa nine direct qualification places. The winners of each group will be automatically qualified, while the four best runners-up will play a CAF playoff tournament. The winner of this tournament will then play a second FIFA playoff with five other teams for the two remaining World Cup spots. The kickoff of the qualifying matches is scheduled for November 2023.

Here are the different qualification groups:

• Group A: Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti.
• Group B: Senegal, DR Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan, South Sudan.
• Group C: Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho.
• Group D: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Eswatini, Mauritius.
• Group E: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger, Eritrea.
• Group F: Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles.
• Group G: Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia.
• Group H: Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe.
• Group I: Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad.