The 2026 World Cup had 48 teams participating for the first time. This meant that there were two knockout rounds: the round of 32 and the round of 16.
10 African teams were there:
Algeria
Cape Verde
DR Congo
Egypt
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Morocco
Senegal
South Africa
Tunisia
Nine teams qualified to the round of 32. Egypt and Morocco made it through to the round of 16. Only Morocco made it to the quarter-finals. After the quarter-finals, all the African teams were out.
One would wonder if any African country can win the men’s FIFA World Cup tournament.
History has shown that some African teams have won junior tournaments previously:
- Ghana: Won the FIFA U-17 World Cup two times (1991 and 1995) and also won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009.
- Nigeria: Won the FIFA U-17 World Cup a record five times (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015)
- Morocco: Won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2025 by defeating Argentina in the final.
How can we replicate this success at the senior level? Let’s discuss!
Sibonginkosi Moyo 