Tunisia and Cameroon book World Cup 2027 berths, will clash for LA 2028 spot

Tunisia and Cameroon progressed to Friday’s gold medal showdown at the 2026 CAVB Men's Volleyball African Nations Championship in Tunis to secure two of the three continental tickets to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland and stay on track towards grabbing Africa’s berth at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games men’s volleyball event.

Hosts Tunisia swept their first three matches of the African Nations Championship in straight sets, shutting out Ghana and Kenya in Pool A, and Rwanda in the quarterfinals.

On Wednesday evening, they delighted the home fans in Tunis with a 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-16, 25-12) semifinal victory over Morocco to claim a spot in Friday’s final and at next year’s World Cup in Poland.

It will be Tunisia’s 12^th appearance at the World Cup (previously the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship). At the last edition in 2025, they achieved their best result in the history of the competition, a 12^th-place finish. Tunisia are the most decorated team in the history of the African Nations Championships, with as many as 11 titles, seven silver and two bronze medals. They are currently the number 31 team in the FIVB World Ranking.

Cameroon topped Pool D after three-point wins over DR Congo, Central Africa and Rwanda, dropping only a set in their last game against Rwanda. In the quarterfinals, Cameroon battled it out for a nail-biting 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 25-23, 16-14) victory over Ghana, and in Wednesday’s semis, they celebrated a 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 20-25, 25-23) win over Algeria.

Cameroon are set to compete at next year’s World Cup for the sixth time in history. The 13^th place they took in 2010 was their best result in the World Championships. Cameroon have two gold (1989, 2001), five silver and five bronze medals in their African Nations Championship showcase. Their last podium was decorated with silver in 2021, while in 2023, they finished fourth. They are now ranked number 45 in the world.

Thursday’s program in Tunis offers the classification matches for the 11^th, the ninth, the seventh and the fifth places in the final standings. Friday’s final day of action will serve off at 15:00 local time (14:00 UTC) with the bronze medal game between Morocco and Algeria, with the winner also qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. The gold medal showdown between Tunisia and Cameroon is set to get underway at 18:00 (17:00), with the 2026 continental champions claiming an LA 2028 Olympic berth.

CAVB Men's Volleyball African Nations Championship: schedule and results

Quick links:
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter