Cape Verde's defender #13 Sidney Lopes Cabral celebrates with teammates scoring his team's second goal during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 football match between Argentina and Cape Verde at the Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens on July 3, 2026. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)
Africa’s representation at the 2026 World Cup produced a record nine teams reaching the round of 32, yet seven of those sides, South Africa, DR Congo, Senegal, Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde, were eliminated in the space of a few days, leaving only Morocco and Egypt to fly the continent’s flag in North America, PETER AKINBO writes
For years, the Confederation of African Football had argued that five automatic slots were insufficient for its 54 member nations, pointing out that only nine per cent of African countries were represented at previous World Cups compared to about half of South America’s members.
With the expanded 48-team format handing Africa nine guaranteed places, plus a tenth secured by DR Congo through the intercontinental play-offs, there had been quiet concern over how the continent’s representatives would fare on the bigger stage.
That concern initially appeared unfounded, as nine of Africa’s ten representatives progressed from the group stage, outperforming both Asia and the Concacaf region, with only Tunisia failing to advance after a group-stage campaign in which they trailed for a record 256 minutes across their three matches, breaking a mark that had stood since Mexico’s 1998 World Cup.
