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Senegal's forward Sadio Mane (C) celebrates with Senegal teammates.[AFP]
The 2026 World Cup is underway in Mexico, Canada and the USA. There was controversy before the games began due to challenges in visa acquisition. However, when the whistle for the opening match was blown, football cleared the sideshows.
13 African nations have qualified for the World Cup since Egypt played at the 1934 World Cup in Italy. It took another 36 years for another African country, Morocco, to feature in the 1970s in Mexico. Africa had only one slot for 1970, 1974, the Democratic Republic of Congo featured, and 1978, Tunisia represented the continent. In 1972, CAF got two slots, which increased over the years until this year’s edition.
The elite African teams in North America are: Algeria, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. Cape Verde is making their debut.
