Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibia’s dream of qualifying for its maiden Fifa World Cup appearance faces a significant challenge, as eight other countries are also vying to advance to the second round of qualifying.
Brave Warriors’ dismal performance against Malawi cost them the points needed to be on the brink of qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
However, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the International Federation of Football Associations (Fifa) have not made an official announcement on how Eritrea’s withdrawal will affect the rankings of the group runners-up. This resulted in not all groups having the same number of teams.
The Africa Fifa World Cup runners-up ranking sees Namibia’s Brave Warriors in sixth place on 15 points, with Gabon on top with 19 points, Madagascar second with 16 points, DRC Congo (16), Burkina Faso (15), Cameroon (15), Uganda (15), Benin (14) and Tanzania on ten points.
Following Namibia’s 3-0 thrashing of São Tomé and Príncipe this week, the Warriors now have two away encounters in October against Liberia and already World Cup finalist Tunisia to determine if they qualify for the group runners-up.
The four best group runners-up will be drawn into the playoffs to determine the sole CAF representatives at the inter-confederation playoffs, with a total of three matches to be played.
The playoff winner will join one team each from the Asian Football Confederation, Oceania Football Confederation, Continental Governing Body of Football in South America, and the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football.
AFRICA WORLD CUP REPRESENTATION
Football pundit Hector Mawonga says: “I do believe it is time that Africa shines at the Fifa World Cup, and with the tournament having expanded, the chances are bigger that the continent can do well.”
“Morocco showed the way by reaching the semi-finals at the last event in Qatar, and I’m sure they have inspired the rest of Africa to go even further.”
“As one can see in the qualifiers, the competition among countries is quite tough. Cape Verde is leading their group and could very well make their debut on the world stage in Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America.”
He says Verde assembled a team of players with ties to Cape Verde who ply their trade in Spain’s lower leagues, and those players are eager to prove to the world they deserve contracts with bigger clubs. That is their basis for producing such strong performances in the qualifiers, he says.
“It is a pity that southern Africa, except South Africa and, to a lesser extent, Namibia, struggled in the qualifiers. I think the region needs to get serious about the Cosafa Cup by sending their strongest sides to increase competition and thereby make themselves battle-hardened when competing against the rest of the continent.”
On his part, local football analyst Uaka Katuamba says Morocco is one of the African nations that has done well, considering the 2022 World Cup. Ending the competition in the last four after eliminating Portugal, they went on to lose against a great French side in the semi-finals.
“For me, they have done very well, and it’s not a fluke that they are again among the first teams to qualify for the prestigious global showpiece for 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico. Their development and way of doing things are one of the reasons they have been doing so well. So, I believe Morocco can go beyond the group stages again.”
“The other country is South Africa. I believe since head coach Hugo Broos took over, he has shown what kind of players he wants and what type of football he wants to play.”
Katuamba says Tunisia has not proven to be playing football that is known. “I don’t see them going through the group stages. I don’t know if it’s the age that is playing a role in this Tunisian team, but they are struggling a bit.”
He says Egypt can put on a great show and might also pass the group stages. “Other countries that might surprise us are Cape Verde… they play great football, and they might just be one of the surprise teams at the World Cup.”
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