Harambee Stars draw Ivory Coast in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

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FIFA World Cup Harambee Stars draw Ivory Coast in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Festus Chuma 19:30 - 13.07.2023

Harambee Stars draws Group F, eyes first-ever World Cup appearance.

The Kenya national team, Harambee Stars, has learned their opponents for the African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will kick off on November 13, 2023.

Stars have been drawn in Group F of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ivory Coast, Gabon, The Gambia, Burundi and Seychelles.

Harambee Stars were seeded in pot 3 of the draw held in Abidjan on Thursday, July 13, 2023, and will look to make it to the world premiere competition for the first time ever.

The road to the 2026 World Cup will feature a round-robin format, with each team in the group playing against one another.

After Match Day 10, the top team from each group will secure an automatic qualification to the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

However, the competition does not end there. The four best second-placed teams across all nine groups will enter into a Continental play-off. 

This fierce showdown will determine one victor who will then proceed to a second and final play-off, involving six teams from different confederations. From these six, the top two will earn their spot among the 48 teams participating in the 2026 World Cup.

Match Day One and Two are scheduled between November 13-21, 2023, with the third and fourth match days taking place in June 2024. The final match day will be held in the week of October 6-14, 2025.

The Continental play-off, a stage where dreams can either be shattered or fulfilled, is slated to occur between November 10-18, 2025, at a venue yet to be announced. 

Full draw:

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

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

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

Group D: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Swaziland, Mauritius 

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

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

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

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

Group I: Mali, Ghana, Madagascar, CAR, Comoros, Chad

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