AFRICA (CAF; 5 PLACES)

• African qualifying 

There are 54 FIFA-affiliated nations.

Round One: The 28 lowest ranked nations played two-legged ties, played in September 2019, with the full list of results available here.
Round Two: The 14 winners from the first round were joined by the other 26 African nations. Those 40 teams were split into 10 groups of four teams, with the group winners advancing to the final round.

This round was due to begin in March 2020 and run through to October 2021 until football was suspended. The group stage finally began in September 2021, and was completed in November -- effectively concluding the group phase in 11 weeks.

The groups, with winners in bold, were:

Group A: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Djibouti
Group B: Tunisia, Zambia, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea,
Group C: Nigeria, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Liberia
Group D: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Malawi
Group E: Mali, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda
Group F: Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Angola
Group G: Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia
Group H: Senegal, Congo, Namibia, Togo
Group I: Morocco, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan
Group J: Congo DR, Benin, Madagascar, Tanzania

- Final tables

Round Three: The 10 group winners were drawn into five head-to-head, two-legged ties to earn one of the five places at the World Cup. Fixtures to be played on March 25 and 29, 2022.

Cameroon vs. Algeria
DR Congo vs. Morocco
Egypt vs. Senegal
Ghana vs. Nigeria
Mali vs. Tunisia