Bafana Bafana will have to overcome African powerhouse Nigeria if they are to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
The 2026 edition of the tournament, to be hosted jointly by Canada, the United States and Mexico, will have 48 teams, expanded from 32. Africa will have 10 guaranteed spot for the competition.
Hugo Broos’ men have been drawn alongside the Super Eagles, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho in Group C. The winners of the nine groups will qualify for the tournament, while the best four runners up will enter a play-off where the best team will go to North America.
Should South Africa qualify, it will be the first time they’ve done so since 2002, where a Carlos Queiroz-led team reached the finals in Japan and South Korea with relative ease.
Qualifiers will kick off in the first weekend of November.
Group A
Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti
Group B
Senegal, Democratic Republic of 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 Brazzaville, Tanzania, Niger, Eritrea
Group F
Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles
Group G
Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia
Group H
Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome e Principe
Group I
Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chad
Matchdays
1, 2: Nov 13-21, 2023
3, 4: June 3-11, 2024
5, 6: Mar 17-25, 2025
7, 8: Sept 1-9, 2025
9, 10: Oct 6-14, 2025
Play-offs
Nov 10-18, 2025
IOL Sport