# 2026 African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification The 2026 African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification was a four-round knockout competition organized by the [Confederation of African Football](https://www.edgepedia.org/confederation-of-african-football) (CAF) to decide the four African teams at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026, a 24-nation tournament.[1](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/caf-maps-out-road-to-poland-2026-u-20-women-s-world-cup-african-qualifiers-draw-completed-1/) CAF conducted the draw at its headquarters in Cairo, and the campaign ran from May 2025 to May 2026, ending with Nigeria and Ghana among the qualified teams.[1](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/caf-maps-out-road-to-poland-2026-u-20-women-s-world-cup-african-qualifiers-draw-completed-1/) • [2](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/nigeria-and-ghana-seal-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-poland-2026-qualification/) | Key fact | Detail | |---|---| | Prize | Four places for Africa at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026, a 24-team tournament.[1](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/caf-maps-out-road-to-poland-2026-u-20-women-s-world-cup-african-qualifiers-draw-completed-1/) | | Format | Four knockout rounds, each played over two legs, home and away; the eight fourth-round teams played for the four qualifying spots.[1](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/caf-maps-out-road-to-poland-2026-u-20-women-s-world-cup-african-qualifiers-draw-completed-1/) | | First round | Underway from Friday, 9 May 2025, with return legs on 16 and 18 May; winners advanced to a second round set for September 2025.[3](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-2026-qualifiers-africa-begins-its-journey-to-poland/) | | Third round | First legs on 6–8 February 2026, second legs on 12–14 February 2026.[4](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/brazil-2027/articles/global-womens-football-calendar-2026) | | Final round | Eight teams, fixtures from 2 to 10 May 2026: Cameroon vs Tanzania, Nigeria vs Malawi, Côte d'Ivoire vs Benin, and Ghana vs Uganda.[5](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-fixtures-and-schedule-for-final-round-of-african-qualifiers/) | | Qualified so far reported | Nigeria (3–2 aggregate over Malawi) and Ghana (1–1 second-leg draw in Kampala against Uganda), both on 9 May 2026.[2](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/nigeria-and-ghana-seal-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-poland-2026-qualification/) | | Finals dates | The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was scheduled for 5 to 27 September 2026.[5](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-fixtures-and-schedule-for-final-round-of-african-qualifiers/) | ## Format and schedule CAF structured the campaign as a straight knockout across four rounds, every tie played home and away. The fourth and final round would send its four winning teams to Poland; the finals tournament itself was set for 24 nations, with Africa allocated four representatives.[1](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/caf-maps-out-road-to-poland-2026-u-20-women-s-world-cup-african-qualifiers-draw-completed-1/) **First round, May 2025.** The qualifiers officially got underway on Friday, 9 May 2025, with Gambia hosting Côte d'Ivoire at the Independence Stadium in Bakau. The first legs ran across 9 and 11 May, with return legs on 16 and 18 May, and other opening ties included Rwanda vs Zimbabwe, Malawi vs [Central African Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-african-republic), South Sudan vs Djibouti, and Togo vs [Tunisia](https://www.edgepedia.org/tunisia-epzbm6s25e).[3](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-2026-qualifiers-africa-begins-its-journey-to-poland/) The winners moved into a second round scheduled for September 2025.[3](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-2026-qualifiers-africa-begins-its-journey-to-poland/) **Third round, February 2026.** The calendar placed the third round in early 2026, with first legs on 6–8 February and second legs on 12–14 February.[4](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/brazil-2027/articles/global-womens-football-calendar-2026) Cameroon delivered the standout first-leg performance, beating Botswana 5–0, while Kenya edged Tanzania in a tight encounter.[6](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-cameroon-cruise-as-nigeria-and-kenya-gain-narrow-first-leg-edges/) ## Reaching the final eight The second legs of the third round, played in mid-February 2026, settled the final-eight line-up.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) - Ghana advanced with a 1–0 win over South Africa in Nelspruit, sealing a 3–2 aggregate victory after a 2–2 first leg in Accra; a 63rd-minute strike from midfielder Priscilla Mensah settled the tie at the Mbombela Stadium.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) - Nigeria beat Senegal 2–1 away to complete a 3–1 aggregate win, with goals from Chinaza Kindness Ifeanyi and Precious Oscar keeping the Falconets on track for their 12th tournament appearance.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) - Tanzania overcame a first-leg deficit against Kenya, winning 1–0 in [Dar es Salaam](https://www.edgepedia.org/dar-es-salaam) to level the aggregate before triumphing 3–1 on penalties.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) - Uganda defeated Zambia 1–0 on the road after a 1–1 first leg, earning a final-round meeting with Ghana.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) - Cameroon progressed 5–1 on aggregate despite a narrow second-leg loss to Botswana, and Benin dominated Egypt with a 4–0 second-leg victory.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) - Malawi thrashed [Guinea-Bissau](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinea-bissau) 5–1 in their return leg, and Côte d'Ivoire also advanced.[7](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) ## The final round The final round was played from 2 to 10 May 2026, with the four winners taking Africa's places in Poland.[5](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-fixtures-and-schedule-for-final-round-of-african-qualifiers/) The fixtures were: - Cameroon vs Tanzania: first leg 2 May, 14:00 GMT, Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé; return 10 May, 12:30 GMT, Amaan Stadium, Zanzibar. - Nigeria vs Malawi: first leg 2 May, 16:00 GMT, Ikenne Stadium, Ikenne; return 9 May, 13:00 GMT, Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe. - Côte d'Ivoire vs Benin: first leg 2 May, 17:00 GMT, Stade d'Ebimpé, Abidjan; return 10 May, 15:00 GMT, Stade de Kégué, Lomé. - Ghana vs Uganda: first leg 3 May, 15:30 GMT, Accra Stadium, Accra; return 9 May, 13:00 GMT, FUFA Stadium Kadiba, Kampala.[5](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-fixtures-and-schedule-for-final-round-of-african-qualifiers/) **Nigeria and Ghana qualify.** On Saturday, 9 May 2026, Nigeria and Ghana booked their places at Poland 2026.[2](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/nigeria-and-ghana-seal-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-poland-2026-qualification/) Nigeria survived a major scare in Lilongwe: Malawi won the second leg 2–1 through a Faith Chinzimu brace (8', 55'), and for a period the Junior Scorchers looked capable of overturning the deficit, but Precious Oscar's 62nd-minute away goal restored calm and confirmed a 3–2 aggregate win for the Falconets after their 2–0 first-leg victory.[2](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/nigeria-and-ghana-seal-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-poland-2026-qualification/) In Kampala, Ghana drew 1–1 with Uganda, Sylvia Kabene opening for the hosts in the 6th minute and Precious Asante equalizing in the 78th, ending Uganda's bid for a first-ever [FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-u-20-womens-world-cup) appearance.[2](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/nigeria-and-ghana-seal-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-poland-2026-qualification/) The finals tournament ran from 5 to 27 September 2026, with the qualified African sides representing the continent at the global stage.[5](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-fixtures-and-schedule-for-final-round-of-african-qualifiers/) ## Africa's place at the finals Africa's four places came from a global allocation in which CAF, AFC, Concacaf, and CONMEBOL each received four slots, UEFA six including hosts Poland, and OFC two.[8](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/u20womensworldcup/poland-2026/articles/dates-teams-groups-information-poland-2026?searchOverlay=1) The tournament's later stages featured African opposition deep into the knockout rounds: Nigeria met Colombia in a quarter-final.[9](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/u20womensworldcup/poland-2026/articles/matchday-thirteen-quarter-finals-round-up) ## References 1. [CAF maps out road to Poland 2026: U-20 Women's World Cup African Qualifiers Draw completed, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/caf-maps-out-road-to-poland-2026-u-20-women-s-world-cup-african-qualifiers-draw-completed-1/) 2. [Nigeria and Ghana seal FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026 qualification, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/nigeria-and-ghana-seal-fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-poland-2026-qualification/) 3. [FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2026 Qualifiers: Africa begins its journey to Poland, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-2026-qualifiers-africa-begins-its-journey-to-poland/) 4. [Global women's football calendar in 2026, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/brazil-2027/articles/global-womens-football-calendar-2026) 5. [FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifiers: Fixtures and schedule for final round of African qualifiers, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-fixtures-and-schedule-for-final-round-of-african-qualifiers/) 6. [FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifiers: Cameroon cruise as Nigeria and Kenya gain narrow first-leg edges, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/fifa-u-20-women-s-world-cup-qualifiers-cameroon-cruise-as-nigeria-and-kenya-gain-narrow-first-leg-edges/) 7. [Ghana and Nigeria progress as Women's U-20 World Cup qualifying reaches final stage, CAF](https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/ghana-and-nigeria-progress-as-womens-u-20-world-cup-qualifying-reaches-final-stage/) 8. [Dates, qualifiers & more: FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2026, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/u20womensworldcup/poland-2026/articles/dates-teams-groups-information-poland-2026?searchOverlay=1) 9. [Colombia and DPR Korea through to semi-finals, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Poland 2026, FIFA](https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/u20womensworldcup/poland-2026/articles/matchday-thirteen-quarter-finals-round-up) --- *Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Women's football seasons* *Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026* *Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.* License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license