At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Morocco made history as the first African country to reach the tournament’s semi-finals, knocking out Portugal in the quarter-finals. It was a historic moment for African football, and players from the continent are bolstered by Morocco’s exceptional performance in 2022 for the ongoing 2026 tournament. For the 2026 World Cup, more countries were accommodated, which allowed more African countries to qualify for the tournament.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, 10 African countries qualified for the World Cup. Ghana, Morocco, Cabo Verde, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, DR Congo and South Africa, and each country has shown that they deserve to be competing in the tournament.
In the past, there were conversations around despite Africa producing players who perform excellently in Europe, the players have collectively failed to place their countries on the world’s biggest stages. A major factor responsible for this was the poor institutional structures of football federations in each country. However, in recent times, African countries have begun to understand the importance of world football, its benefits, and why they have to be present there.
So far at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, African countries have shown some exceptional performances, holding draws against teams with supposedly better squads and even beating some. Let’s look at how African teams have performed at the 2026 World Cup so far.
Reaching Knockout Stages
No stage at the FIFA World Cup is easy, but making it out of the group stages is always one of the most difficult stages at the World Cup. Previously, this is where most African teams drop out of the tournament. But at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, all qualified African teams, except Tunisia, have reached the knockout stage, round of 32, where they will be looking to proceed to the round of 16 before the finals.
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Winning and Drawing Major Matches
African teams were grouped and drawn against strong teams, which many would have expected African teams would not have a chance of beating or drawing. But the teams put up their best performances to get a point or all three points against them.
Notable matches include Cote d’Ivoire beating Ecuador, DR Congo playing a draw against Portugal, Cabo Verde playing a draw against Spain, Ghana drawing against England, and South Africa beating South Korea. These results show how ready African teams are to compete in the tournament as far as they can. They are making names for themselves and their countries on football’s biggest stage.
Vozinha’s Heroic Performance
Against Spain, Cabo Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha, was very instrumental in his country’s draw against the European favourite. The 40-year-old made World Cup history with seven spectacular saves against Spain before breaking the internet by gaining over 5 million Instagram followers overnight. He is currently one of the breakout stars of the tournament.
We are rooting for the African teams to go all the way. What has been your favourite moment from the World Cup so far, and which African country are you rooting for?
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