Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique will compete for the final two African places at the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Saturday, as the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 reaches its decisive play-off stage.
The four teams, all eliminated from the quarter-final race, remain in contention thanks to Africa’s expanded allocation of 10 slots at the global tournament. While eight teams have already secured qualification by reaching the quarter-finals, the remaining two tickets will be decided through a final round of play-offs.
The action begins with Ethiopia facing Mozambique at CMVI-T8 at 17:00 local time, before Ghana take on Uganda at CMVI-T11 at 20:00. The winners of both matches will complete Africa’s list of representatives at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The play-offs offer a lifeline for four sides who came close to progressing from their respective groups but fell just short on fine margins.
Ghana, who remain one of Africa’s most historically successful youth football nations, enter the decisive fixture after finishing third in Group D. They ended their group campaign on a positive note with a 3-1 victory over South Africa, a result inspired by Joseph Narbi’s penalty double and a late strike from Augustine Appiah.
Despite that win, Ghana finished level on four points with Algeria. However, Algeria advanced to the quarter-finals on superior goal difference, leaving the Black Starlets outside the automatic qualification places. Their campaign now hinges on a single match against Uganda to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
Uganda, meanwhile, also missed out on a top-two finish in their group but remain within touching distance of a historic qualification. Their meeting with Ghana presents a high-stakes contest between two teams determined to extend their continental campaign.
In the earlier play-off, Ethiopia will look to build on a dramatic group-stage finish that kept their qualification hopes alive. Their 1-0 stoppage-time victory over Tunisia, secured through Amir Misbah’s late goal, lifted them level on points with Egypt in Group A. However, Egypt progressed on goal difference, forcing Ethiopia into the play-off route.
Mozambique provide the opposition after also finishing outside the automatic qualification places. Like Ethiopia, they showed moments of promise during the group stage but were unable to secure the consistency required to reach the quarter-finals.
The structure of the competition means that while disappointment has defined the group-stage exits of all four play-off teams, opportunity remains firmly within reach. A single victory is now enough to secure a place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Elsewhere in the tournament, the quarter-final line-up has already been confirmed, with Morocco set to face Cameroon, Senegal taking on Mali, Côte d’Ivoire meeting Egypt, and Tanzania playing Algeria. All eight of those teams have already guaranteed their places at the global tournament.
For Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique, however, the focus is clear: one final match, one final chance, and two remaining tickets to the world stage.
