World Cup Qualifying Update – Part 2

Hooligan Soccer

·27 marzo 2025

World Cup Qualifying Update – Part 2

Asia Football Confederation (AFC)

We’re still in round three, and here’s how everything looks after eight of the ten games have been played.

Source: Wikipedia

OneFootball Video

Joining Japan in punching their World Cup ticket is regional powerhouse Iran. They have a solid history qualifying for this tournament and this time around will not be an exception. We bid adieu to North Korea, the first eliminated nation in the conference.

This means that there’s a LOT riding on the next set of fixtures, which will be played on June 5th and 10th.

Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)

And we have a winner! No surprise that it’s New Zealand, who defeated New Caledonia 3 – 0 on Monday night. Despite leaving the game with a hip injury Chris Wood had to stoked to return to a World Cup for the first time since 2010. Back then he was just a gangly youth. Now he’s a goal-striking terror.

For New Caledonia, reaching the finals is a notable achievement, and they still have a chance to qualify. As OFC runners-up they automatically get an invitation to March 2026’s six-team inter-confederation playoffs. Congratulations to this tiny nation for advancing as far as they have, and best of luck in the playoffs.

African Football Confederation (CAF)

We now have a slightly clearer picture on the state of African qualifying, but will have to wait a long time to know for certain who will go to the Cup. The final four matches will be played between Sept. 1-9 and October 6-14. There are some clear favorites, which we’ll break down by group.

The Groups

Group A – Egypt are five points clear of Burkino Faso. These two will face off in October; Les Étalons (Burkino Faso) will need a win if they hope to topple the Pharaohs.
Group B – Only one point separates DR Congo, Senegal and Sudan (13, 12, 12 respectfully). This is a tight race.
Group C – With a five point cushion, South Africa sits firmly in the driver’s seat. All remaining five teams are still eligible for the 2nd place spot, but will need to find consistent form.
Group D – Cape Verde (13pts.) and Cameroon (12 pts.) are duking it out. Their September fixture will likely propel the winner into the berth.
Group E – While mathematically still open, Morocco have all but clinched this group. They have a nine point buffer with Niger, who would win every single remaining game, and even then need Morocco to lose. Not gonna happen.
Group F – Cote d’Ivoire (16 pts.) and Gabon’s (15 pts.) match in September will basically decide the winner in this group. Expect Burundi to play the spoiler role; they’re the only team likely to have enough skill to nick points off the leaders.
Group G – Algeria have to ensure they don’t suffer a shock defeat like they did against Guinea at the start of this campaign. They have three points on Mozambique but have already played them twice. Win it out and they win the ticket.
Group H – Tunisia have been nearly perfect; their draw to second place Namibia are their only dropped points. Barring a major catastrophe, they should be winning this group.
Group I – Ghana lost their first game to surprising upstarts Comoros. The reverse fixture in October will be a cracker.

South American Confederation (CONMEBOL)

We all saw the spiciness between Brazil and Argentina play out in the social media memes. But with that emphatic 4 – 1 win (and their earlier 1 – 0 victory over Uruguay) the Albiceleste clinched their berth – without Messi in the line-up.

Ecuador stumbled against Chile; that 0 – 0 draw puts them at 23 pts. Without that 3 point deduction, they’d have clinched already. Uruguay, despite that loss to Argentina and drawing Bolivia 0 – 0, manage to leapfrog Brazil on goal differential. They, along with Paraguay, all have 21 pts.

The bottom four nations (Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru & Chile) all have a punter’s chance of grabbing the seventh place spot to play in the inter-confederation playoffs; the chances of them getting an automatic qualification are slim.

North American Confederation (CONCACAF)

There were no qualifying matches during this break. Round Two winners from the six groups will be decided between June 4 – 10 in the final two fixtures.

European Confederation (UEFA)

Now that the UEFA Who Cares, er, Nations League quarter finals are over, we finally know which of the big eight nations will fit into the twelve groups. The four winners (Germany, France, Spain and Portugal) all enter into the “four team” groups and should be assured of winning them. The four losers (Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Belgium) got placed into “five team” groups.

Since UEFA usually stack ranks its groups, even the “loser” teams have a strong chance to rising to the top. There is no “Group of Death” scenario at play here.