2026 World Cup: Ghana could face Nigeria in qualifiers

FIFA has unveiled the pots for the Africa qualification draw leading up to the 2026 World Cup, hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Black Stars who had a disappointing performance in the previous World Cup, have been placed in Pot 2 for the draw.

Alongside Ghana in Pot 2 are Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea.

The group draw will eventually be conducted on the 12th of July 2023.

According to the draw rule, it will be 9 groups of 6 teams with all the group winners qualifying for the competition proper.

The four best two will compete in a mini-tournament and the winner will make an intercontinental jump-off.

This means that Ghana could potentially be placed in the same group as Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, and Ivory Coast.

This scenario could set the stage for intense and highly anticipated matches in the qualification series.

Ghana defeated Nigeria in the playoff to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where they place last in Group H with just three points from three games after beating South Korea and losing to Uruguay and Portugal.

Below are the Pots

Pot 1: Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Egypt, Ivory Coast

Pot 2: Ghana, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea

Pot 3: Angola, Benin, Kenya, Mauritania, Congo, Uganda, Madagascar, Guinea Bissau, Namibia

Pot 4: Mozambique, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Malawi, Libya

Pot 5: Niger, Comoros, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia

Pot 6: Lesotho, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, Sao Tome, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia.