Nation Miss Out on World Cup After Rivals Refuse to Play Amid Strict Ruling

Former Africa Cup of Nations finalists Burkina Faso have missed out on reaching the 2026 World Cup after one of their rivals pulled out of their qualifying group.

The first round of African qualifying saw the 54 eligible nations drawn into nine groups of six in what is a new format, with the top-placed nation in each group automatically qualifying for the World Cup.

Out of the nine second-placed teams, the four with the best records in the first round qualify for the second round.

A knockout bracket is then played to determine which African nation will compete in the inter-confederation play-offs, consisting of one team from AFC, CONMEBOL and OFC, and two from CONCACAF, with two of those nations securing a spot at the World Cup.

Burkina Faso finished in fifth place in the rankings, missing out to fourth-placed Nigeria by a single goal.

The ranking of second-placed teams in African qualifying

In March, CAF declared that only eight out of the 10 qualifying matches would count in the second-placed rankings, and that each team's results against the team in sixth place in their group would be expunged from the rankings.

Why CAF made unprecedented 2026 World Cup decision

The reasoning behind the decision was due to the withdrawal of Eritrea, who pulled out of World Cup qualifying before it began - leaving one of the groups with only five teams.

Eritrea is currently under a totalitarian dictatorship, and the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the sole legal political party in the nation.

It is reported that the regime had concerns that players would attempt to secure political asylum in opposing countries during away matches if the nation competed in World Cup qualifying.

Eritrea is ranked 178th out of 193 countries in the Human Development Index, which uses indicators based on a number of health, education, living conditions and income factors.

The nation did not compete in an international match for over five years from January 2020 onwards before playing two friendlies against a Niger A side in May.

Ironically, their lack of participation in World Cup qualifying may have come at a cost to Niger, who were drawn in Eritrea's group and finished second - level on points with Nigeria in the second-placed rankings, albeit with a goal difference deficit of six.

But it was Burkina Faso who agonisingly missed out, despite having collected 21 points in their group compared to Nigeria's 17.

However, Burkina Faso thrashed Djibouti, who finished in sixth place in Group A, 6-0 and 4-1 - results which were both removed as a result of CAF's ruling.

Nigeria, meanwhile, recorded a pair of 1-1 draws against Zimbabwe in what was a more competitive Group C.

It is Nigeria, therefore, who will have the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup alongside fellow highest second-placed sides Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon.