EXCLUSIVE: Harambee Stars in pot 3 ahead of WC qualifiers

Harambee Stars have been placed in pot 3 ahead of the final CAF draw for the African zone of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Kenya are in the same pool as Angola, Benin, Mauritania, Congo, Uganda, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, and Namibia. The upcoming qualifiers will give Engin Firat charges a return ticket to the international podium after recently serving a FIFA ban.

Recently, CAF produced a new format for the World Cup qualifiers, and the games will now be played on a round robin basis. The top team from each group after match day 10 will earn automatic qualification for the next World Cup edition.

The best four second-placed teams from across all nine groups will enter a continental play-off to determine one winner, who will then proceed to a second and final play-off, which will include six teams from the other different confederations. The top two of these six will qualify for the World Cup, making up the 48 teams.

The CAF qualifiers will start in November, with matchdays one and two set for between November 13 and 21. The third and fourth match days are scheduled for June next year.

The last match day will be in the week of October 6–14, and the continental play-off will be staged between November 10–18, 2025, at a venue to be communicated later.

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.