Africa football boss Patrice Motsepe said on Sunday that hard work and investment in youth, coaching, and infrastructure had paid off at the 2026 World Cup.
Nine of the 10 African qualifiers for the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have reached the knockout phase.
Algeria, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa will feature in the round of 32. Only Tunisia missed out, losing all three matches.
“Hard work and investments in youth football, coaching, professional leagues and infrastructure in each of the 54 CAF member associations is bearing fruit,” said CAF president Motsepe.
Ninety percent success in group stage
“I congratulate the nine CAF member association presidents and their executive committees and thank the African governments for their co-operation and support.
“The governance, transparency, financial, and auditing best practices that have been introduced attracted new sponsors and partners and (helped) develop and grow African football.
“CAF wishes the nine national teams everything of the best and we are confident they will continue to make their countries and Africa extremely proud.”
Africa achieved 90% success in qualifying for the second round – the highest figure among the six FIFA continental regions. South America (83.33%) was second and Europe (81.25%) third.
Cabo Verde’s fairytale
In 2022, Morocco became the first World Cup semi-finalists from Africa. The Atlas Lions overcame Belgium, Spain, and Portugal en route to the penultimate stage before losing to France.
Cabo Verde is another team that has impressed at the tournament.
After stunning eight-time World Cup participants Cameroon in African qualifying, the Blue Sharks drew against star-studded Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia to finish Group H runners-up.
Africa benefited when FIFA expanded the World Cup from 32 teams at the last tournament. It was allocated nine places and DR Congo beat Jamaica in the final of an inter-continental play-off.
