Sierra Leone placed in Group A with Egypt, and others for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Sierra Leone’s national men’s football team has been placed in Group A alongside Egypt, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Guinea Bissau in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Africa Qualifiers.

The draw for the qualifiers was conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The matches are scheduled to commence in November of this year.

In the preliminary rounds of the 2022 World Cup in September 2019, the Leone Stars faced elimination at the hands of Liberia’s national team, the Lone Stars, with an overall score of 3-2. Liberia secured a 3-1 victory in the first leg, and they were defeated by 1-0 in the subsequent match held in Freetown.

Sierra Leone’s latest FIFA ranking saw them move from 117th to 120th. This shift occurred after their elimination by Nigeria’s Super Eagles with a score of 3-2 during the 2023 AFCON Qualifiers, which took place at the SKD Stadium in Liberia.

Sierra Leone has never participated in a FIFA World Cup before. However, with the expanded 48-team format, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to be co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, will allow nine African nations to compete, opening a path for the continent’s top teams in the sport.