Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Bruce and striker Percy Tao.
South Africa will face its old enemy Nigeria in Group Three of the African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Other teams such as Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho make up the group.
The winners of each group are guaranteed automatic World Cup qualification, while the play-off stage for the four best runners-up in the group determines who will represent Africa at the Confederation Championships in March 2026.
The first round of qualifying matches for Africa will be held in November.
Morocco, which reached the semi-finals of the previous World Cup, is in Group E with Zambia, Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania, Niger and Eritrea.
Egypt is in Group A and will face Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Djibouti, while Senegal is in Group B along with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan and South Sudan.
The draw for Africa’s qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, which took place in Abidjan, Thursday:
Group A
Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti
Group B
Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan, South Sudan
Group C
nigeria, South AfricaBenin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho
group d
Angola, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Libya, Swaziland, Mauritius
Group E
Morocco, Zambia, Congo Brazzaville, Tanzania, Niger, Eritrea
Group F
Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles
Group G
Uganda, Botswana, Algeria, Somalia, Guinea, Mozambique
group h
Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe
The first group
Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad
Nine group winners qualified for the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States
– The four best runners-up in the group enter the playoffs, and the winning team qualifies for the Confederation Championship in March 2026
Match holidays
1, 2: From November 13 to 21, 2023
3, 4: From 3 to 11 June 2024
5, 6: March 17-25, 2025
7, 8: From September 1 to 9, 2025
9, 10: From October 6 to 14, 2025
qualifiers
From 10 to 18 November 2025