South Africa qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the 1st time since 2010, when they hosted the tournament, after romping to a 3-0 win over Rwanda, in their last Group C match played in Nelspruit on Tuesday evening.
Two first-half goals from Thalenthe Mbatha and Oswin Appollis in the 3rd and 21st minutes respectively and a 72nd-minute goal by Evidence Makgopa, sealed a resounding victory for the home side, Bafana, who led the group on 18 points.
Bafana will be making a fourth appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Despite running riot 4-0 at home to Benin, the Super Eagles of Nigeria finished as runners-up in Group C and will have to navigate through playoffs to stand a chance of booking their ticket.
African champions Ivory Coast sealed their 4th qualification and 1st since 2014, after hammering Kenya 3-0 in a rain-soaked Group F match at the Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan.
The Elephants finished their qualification campaign without conceding a goal in the group, leading with 25 points, a point ahead of 2nd-placed Gabon, who breezed 2-0 past the hapless Burundi.
The Lions of Teranga from Senegal also sealed their berth after mauling Mauritania 4-0, in Group B and will be competing in next year’s finals for a third successive time and 4th overall.
Gabon, D.R. Congo, Nigeria and Cameroon will battle it out in Morocco next month in the continental playoffs, with the best-ranked team playing the lowest-ranked in the 1st semi while the remaining teams play each other in the 2nd semifinal.
CAF continental winner will play in an intercontinental playoff in order to qualify.
The nine teams which punched automatic slots for the 2026 World Cup are Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, CapeThe CAF Verde, South Africa, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Next year’s World Cup, which will feature 48 teams for the 1st time, will be staged across 16 cities in Mexico, the USA and Canada from June 11th till July 19th.
