2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS: Ghana Find Itself In Group ‘I’ With Tough Opponent Mali

Ghana has been drawn in Group ‘I’ with difficult opposition, Mali in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.

The draw to determine countries who will qualify to represent the continent of Africa in the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place on 13 July, 2023 at the economic capital of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire.

Mali has often posed as a difficult side for Ghana anytime both countries meet, but with the recent below average performances of Ghana, it will take extra hard work for coach Chris Hughton and his men to seek the top slot in Group ‘I’ to ensure qualification to the Mundial.

Meanwhile, the qualification format will take the form of nine groups playing in a home and away, round-robin, bases with each of the group winners qualifying automatically for the FIFA World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico.

The four best group runners-up will then compete in a play-off matches with selected countries from other continents to determine CAF’s representative at a FIFA all play-off tournament. This will feature one team from each of FIFA’s six confederations, except UEFA, plus one additional team from the host confederation (Concacaf).

However, the qualification matches will be played over a period of two years starting from
13-21 November 2023, 3-11 June 2024, 17-25 March 2025, 1-9 September 2025, 6-14 October 2025 and 10-18 November 2025 (Play-offs).

Below shows how all the groups look like;

Group A:
Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and Djibouti

Group B:
Senegal, Congo DR, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan and South Sudan

Group C:
Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho

Group D:
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Eswatini and Mauritius

Group E:
Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania, Niger and Eritrea

Group F:
Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, The Gambia, Burundi and Seychelles

Group G:
Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana and Somalia

Group H:
Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe

Group I:
Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad.

Kyei Manu

I’m a Practicing Media Personnel /Freelance Journalist. The Editor/Blogger of this portal, with interest in Sports, Environmental and other Social issues that affects society.
A member of Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) and AIPS International.