Golden opportunity for the African national team at the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup is predicted to be a historic moment for African football, with the possibility of nine teams from the continent making it to the round of 16. This is expected to be a significant result, following the expansion of the number of participants from five to ten teams. The only team expected to not live up to expectations was Tunisia, who after changing coach from Sabri Lamouchi to Hervé Renard, had to settle for poor results: zero points, two goals scored, and twelve goals conceded. Tunisia have participated in seven editions of the World Cup but have never made it to the knockout phase, although they made history as the first African team to win a World Cup match in 1978 against Mexico.

Other teams such as Ivory Coast, Egypt and South Africa have also managed to surpass the group stage restrictions. Senegal, despite being in a difficult group, managed to book their place in the last 16 with a spectacular 5-0 win over Iraq. Meanwhile, Morocco lived up to expectations by finishing behind Brazil.

Capo Verde, which is the country with the smallest population (500,000 people) ever to advance to the knockout phase, made history in their first appearance. Ghana also has a big chance, regardless of the result of the match against Austria. Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are still struggling, but both have a good chance; Algeria could be content with a draw against Austria, while Congo must win against Uzbekistan who have conceded eight goals in their previous two matches.

With these developments, the history of African football seems to be entering a new chapter. Since the start of the World Cup, African teams had to wait until 1986 to see the first team to advance beyond the group stage (Morocco). In 1990, Cameroon reached the quarter-finals, and in 2022, Morocco became the first African team to reach the semifinals. Only in 2014 did more than one African team make it to the knockout stages, with Nigeria and Algeria; and this will repeat itself in 2022. Now, with the situation looking more promising, many hope that African football will shine even more on the world stage.