“In 1990 and 1994 there were two African teams at the World Cup. Now there are nine. We’ve won six games and still have to play two more matches to qualify. It doesn’t seem right. It’s not a controversy, but it creates difficulties.”
These were the words of Italy manager at the time Gennaro Gattuso, after a 2-0 win over Moldova in November 2025 that kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Gattuso, the former Italy international, suggested that Africa deserved less automatic slots after it was increased to nine for the expanded World Cup, seeing as Italy were still struggling to qualify after missing the last two editions of the tournament.
These words sparked outrage on the African continent and the world all over. So you know there was an added incentive for the ten African teams (DR Congo joining after intercontinental playoffs) to deliver on the world stage. So, did they deliver?
Well after the group stages, CAF boasted the best qualification rate, with 9 out of the 10 teams representing, going on to the Round of 32 stage, the best of any confederation. There was unanimous and unequivocal praise for all nations, most notably West African minnows Cabo Verde, after qualifying from a group that included World Cup champions Spain and Uruguay in their debut tournament.
The only disappointment in the group stages was Tunisia, who performed woefully, losing all three group games and sacking manager Sabri Lamouchi after their first game, a 5-1 defeat to Sweden.
On came the newly introduced Round of 32 and there was genuine hope that Africa could finally banish the ghosts of the past when it came to knockout fixtures in the World Cup. African teams had only gotten to the quarter-finals stage on four occasions prior to 2026; Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, Ghana in 2010 and Morocco in 2022.
But it was not to be and everything came crashing down, with reality hitting. Seven out of the remaining nine teams crashed out. South Africa put in a poor performance losing 1-0 to co-hosts Canada, DR Congo lost 2-1 to England after taking the lead, Algeria bowed out after a 2-0 loss to Switzerland, Ivory Coast lost 2-1 to Norway.
The common denominator among these four teams was conceding late goals in their games, which screamed poor game management and lack of concentration from these teams. Ghana was basically non-existent in their 1-0 defeat to Colombia, putting in a limp performance registering zero shots on target.
Yes, zero shots on target in a knockout fixture in the World Cup. Now we get to 2021 African Cup of Nations champions Senegal who managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after losing a 2-0 lead against Belgium to go out in a 3-2 defeat. This defeat was probably the most egregious of them all.
Senegal had this game won as at the 85th minute of the game but lost all control from that point onwards. Belgium dragged Senegal to extra time after canceling that lead in three minutes, and won the game with a 120th minute penalty from Youri Tielemans.
Morocco and Egypt qualified for the Round of 16 after winning penalty shootouts against Netherlands and Australia respectively, following 1-1 stalemates after playing for 120 minutes.
Then we have Cabo Verde, the story of the tournament. First time qualifying, island country of 500,000, not given a chance to make it out of their group but finishing second undefeated. This team took reigning champions Argentina to extra time, before losing 3-2 after a late own goal after a Cristian Romero header in the 111th minute. Make no mistake, the Argentines knew they were in a fight and barely came out on top.
Left back Sidny Lopes Cabral scored one of the goals of the tournament to equalize after Lautaro Martinez gave La Albiceleste a 2-1 lead early in extra time. Cape Verde avoided defeat in normal time against World Cup royalty Spain, Uruguay and Argentina. A big part was their 40 year old goalkeeper Vozinha, who became a social media sensation overnight at these finals.
I’m sure we have not seen the last of them But two out of nine teams making it to the Round of 16 is just not good enough. A common phrase on social media after the Round of 16 fixtures was “inferiority complex”. African teams have always been accused of seeing themselves as being inferior to their European and South American counterparts, hence the shambolic performances and late collapses.
After the group stages, there was belief, tinged with caution of course, that African teams could finally follow up on the promise shown on the continent and by Morocco in the last World Cup after they became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals stage.
Former French striker Thierry Henry said on Fox Sports: “African sides relax too early. People talk about talent and passion, but when they go two goals up, the focus drops.” Co-analyst and ex-Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added: “Several African teams that were leading found a way to lose. In a World Cup, that is not bad luck, that is bad game management.”
African teams struggling in knockout stages, a tale as old as time. Then came the Round of 16 fixtures. Morocco showed why they are currently the best team in Africa (AFCON champions or not) and made light work of Canada with a resounding 3-0 win after a somewhat difficult first half against the physical hosts.
But they got the job done, as they were expected to. Then came Egypt who had the more difficult task of taking on Argentina. But the Pharaohs started well and had the game in their hands with a 2-0 lead after 75 minutes. But it happened again. They contrived to squander their lead and go behind all in the space of 15 appalling minutes of naivety. Egypt couldn’t even take the game to extra time.
They lost the whole thing in normal time and spared us an extra 30 minutes in front of our screens(lucky us, I guess). Shambolic defending and panic on all stations from the 75th minute onward saw them fail to make the quarter finals. It was cowardly, to say the least. And then, we were down to one. Morocco, to no one’s surprise, was the last team standing for Africa.
But stood in their way were tournament favorites France. This was always going to be a hard ask for the North Africans. These two faced off in the semi-finals in 2022 when Morocco were chasing history, with France defeating Morocco 2-0 to make the final. And the result repeated itself with a poor performance to go with it. France were always the favorites to go through, but the expectation was for Morocco to put in a good performance and give it a go. But this was not the case.
They were honestly shocking and could not get close to France. And there you have it. Another World Cup, another tournament where Africa fails to deliver. It was not a total failure in my opinion. Morocco became the first Africans to make back to back quarter-finals, and you expect them to come back stronger.
Their football only seems to be growing with each passing tournament and it is clear to see that they are Africa’s best at the moment. The Moroccan football Federation is enjoying the fruits of its labour after years of conscious efforts to develop their football.
So, was the 2026 World Cup a total failure for Africa? I wouldn’t say so. The whole world got to know of Cabo Verde and Morocco still showed why they are one of the top 10 ranked teams in world football.
Did they justify the 10 slots? Probably not. Can they do better? Of course. Will they? Only time will tell. But more effort needs to be put into developing football on the continent and believing they belong with the best in the world. The results will definitely prove it. Look at Morocco, it is possible, and maybe one day, hopefully soon, an African team will lift the World Cup.
