To summarize the article:
1959: This was the only Copa America that Pele played in. This tournament was a 7-team round robin, and Brazil was undefeated with 4 wins and 2 draws. But they finished 2nd to Argentina, who had 5 wins and 1 draw
1959: For whatever reason, another Copa America was held later in the year, and Brazil decided to send a B-team
1963: Pele decided to go on a world tour with his club Santos to generate revenue instead of playing in Copa America
1967: For whatever reason, Brazil decided to withdraw from Copa America
1975: The next Copa America wasn't held until 1975, by which point Pele had long retired from the Brazilian NT.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(CAF)#Groups
This page will give you a simple overview of the ranking of African teams. "Pot 1" teams are most likely to qualify for the World Cup, while "Pot 2" has several teams that have a good chance to overtake the Pot 1 teams. The rest of the teams aren't expected to have much of a chance to qualify.