"The African national teams have made history at the 2026 World Cup" (P. Motsepe, CAF)

"Significant progress and successes were achieved by the African national teams at the 2026 World Cup and I am very proud of their performances. The 9 that qualified from the group stage to the Round of 32 made history, as this is 90% of the African national teams that participated, and is the highest percentage to qualify to date. The previous percentages were 40% in 2022, none in 2018 and 40% in 2014," Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confédération Africaine de Football, said at a press conference held in Johannesburg (RSA) on 22 July 2026.

Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and South Africa indeed qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Of the 10 African teams participating in the competition (compared…