World Cup trophy and Trionda, the AI powered official football of the 2026 World Cup
HAS Africa come of age in the football World Cup? This is a vital question after the FIFA World Cup 2026 concluded on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New York/New Jersey, in the United States, with Spain gaining a narrow 1-0 victory over the 2022 champions, Argentina.
First, it was an unprecedented World Cup, the largest in the competition’s 96-year history. Co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, the tournament contained 48 finalists, up by 16 from the 32-team finals of the previous era.
With 104 matches in all, many records tumbled during the tournament. France captain Kylian Mbappé moved ahead of Argentina icon Leo Messi with 10 goals, becoming the all-time highest goalscorer at the FWC with 22 goals compared with Messi’s 21. Germany’s Miroslav Klose is third with 16 in the all-time highest goalscorer list.
In all, there were 308 goals, a new record. France’s Michael Olise provided seven assists, another tournament record. Other new milestones included Cristiano Ronaldo notching a goal in six consecutive finals and Messi, 38, becoming the oldest player to score a hat-trick.
Back to Africa. For the first time, Africa had 10 finalists. That is unparalleled for a continent used to having five finalists, except in the 2010 edition hosted by South Africa.
South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria and Tunisia qualified outright for the June 11 to July 19 spectacle. Cape Verde made their debut, while DR Congo made the finals via the continental/intercontinental playoffs.
After the group stage, nine African teams went through to the first knockout round. Only Tunisia were unceremoniously eliminated at the group stage.
At that point, the excitement was undisguised. It seemed as if Africa had come of age, especially as only Japan and Australia qualified for the second round among the nine Asian teams.
In this context, Cape Verde produced some of the best moments. Not only did they qualify for the second round, but the debutants also bravely took Argentina to extra time. They lost 3-2 after coming back twice, with Sidny Cabral scoring a superb goal.
Their goalkeeper, Vozinha, became an instant global sensation after his sterling displays in the team’s debut against Spain at the group stage. Cape Verde held the eventual champions to a 0-0 draw.
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After two previous attempts with a goal to their name, Egypt broke the duck in the FWC 2026. This time, the Pharaohs scored and qualified for the round of 32, where they defeated Australia on penalties. Egypt led 2-0 against Argentina before succumbing 3-2 to the Albiceleste. Controversially, the referee disallowed a Ziko goal.
Morocco, the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022, gave a good account of themselves again. The Atlas Lions got the better of the Netherlands in the round of 32, beating the Europeans 3-2 on penalties after 120 minutes of football ended 1-1.
After a tepid first-half display, Morocco defeated the co-hosts, Canada, 3-0 in the round of 16. In the end, France ensured Morocco did not reach the heights of 2022. Les Blues eliminated Morocco by beating the last African team 2-0 with Mbappe and Ousmane Dembélé on the scoresheet.
That was where Africa’s fairytale campaign ended.
Senegal, who won the 2025 AFCON but were controversially stripped of the title, and Ivory Coast disappointed at the finals.
Senegal failed to repeat their impressive AFCON displays, in part due to player mutiny over bonuses. The federation sacked the coach, Pape Thiaw, shortly after their World Cup ouster.
A notable trend: African teams often led their opponents, only to succumb in the dying minutes of matches. This happened in the DR Congo versus England, Egypt versus Argentina and Belgium versus Senegal matches in the knockout stages.
If African teams are to come of age in the World Cup, this recurring weakness has to be cured.
Excellent preparation, early talent development, technical upskilling, tactical coaching, proper team funding, and player incentives would all combine to bring out the best in African players in future FWCs.
