ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - "A win is a win!" This saying makes perfect sense in the later stages of the group phase of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African qualifiers.
As of 3 July, 10 of the 12 places in the second round have been filled across the three host cities: Dakar, Douala, and Luanda.
But is it all over? Definitely not!
By way of context, three teams – Mali, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire – reached this stage of the competition undefeated, having each played three games.
All teams that advance to the second round carry their group stage points over.
In the second round, the top three teams from Groups A and C will form Group E, while the top three teams from Groups B and D will form Group F.
For example, a team that finishes with a record of 5–1 in the first round will take that record with them to the second round, where they will play six more games.
How they qualified for past World Cup tournaments
Five places are available for African teams at the 2027 Qatar World Cup.
Here’s a chart showing the win-loss records that teams needed to qualify for the last World Cup tournaments.
2019 World Cup (CHINA)
Angola (9-3) Cote d’Ivoire (7-5) Nigeria (9-3) Senegal (10-2) Tunisia (10-2)
2023 World Cup (INDONESIA, JAPAN, PHILIPPINES)
Angola (10-2) Cape Verde (6-4) Cote d’Ivoire (10-2) Egypt (8-4) South Sudan (11-1)
The World Cup African Qualifiers race is hotting up!
FIBA