Algeria's Riyad Mahrez salutes the crowd after their Fifa World Cup exit at the hands of Switzerland.
Algeria’s elimination from the FIFA World Cup has intensified a worrying trend for African football, with five CAF representatives now knocked out in the round of 32 despite a historic group-stage campaign from the continent.
The North Africans became the latest side to fall in the knockout rounds after their defeat to Switzerland on Friday night, continuing what has suddenly become a brutal second phase for African teams at the tournament.
Just days ago, the narrative was completely different. Africa had celebrated one of its greatest collective World Cup achievement after nine of its ten representatives successfully advanced from the group stages under the expanded 48-team format.
It was widely viewed as a definitive breakthrough moment for the continent — proof of genuine tactical growth, squad depth, and increasing competitiveness on the global stage.
