There is a moment that Africans who watched the 2022 World Cup will carry forever. It was 10 December in Doha, the Al Thumama Stadium rocking as if an entire continent had squeezed itself inside. Youssef En-Nesyri rose above Diogo Costa and headed the ball into the net. Morocco 1, Portugal 0.
The Atlas Lions were in the World Cup semifinal, the first African side in the tournament’s 92-year history to get there. Cristiano Ronaldo walked down the tunnel in tears. A generation of African footballers had a new ceiling to aim at.
Four years on, ten African nations descend on the United States, Canada and Mexico with that moment still burning.
The continent has never been better represented at a World Cup, never better prepared. And while it may feel like a leap to talk about a champion from Africa, the trajectory of the last three decades makes the conversation not just reasonable but necessary.
Zaire’s chaos to Morocco’s glory
The story of Africa at the World Cup begins in 1974, when Zaire, now DR Congo, became the first sub-Saharan nation to qualify for the finals.
Their tournament in West Germany was chaotic: a 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia, disputes over player payments, and the infamous moment when defender Mwepu Ilunga ran out of a defensive wall to kick a Brazilian free kick before it was taken.
The continent’s football education was gradual. Morocco became the first African side to advance from the group stage, at Mexico 1986.
Cameroon’s Italia 90 campaign belongs in any list of the greatest World Cup stories ever told: Roger Milla, 38 years old, recalled from semi-retirement by presidential decree, dancing at the corner flag after each of his four goals, the Indomitable Lions beating reigning world champions Argentina in the opening match before a cruel extra-time defeat by England. Africa had announced itself.
Then came Senegal’s fairytale in 2002, their World Cup debut, and a 1-0 win against defending champions France in the opening game. They too reached the quarterfinals.
Ghana matched that in 2010, going further in spirit if not scoreline. In extra time against Uruguay, Luis Suarez batted a goal-bound shot off the line with his hand. Asamoah Gyan’s penalty hit the crossbar. Ghana lost the shootout.
It came within a crossbar’s width of making an African side the first from outside Europe or South America to reach a World Cup semifinal.
Morocco finished what that story started. In Qatar, they eliminated Belgium, Spain and Portugal before falling to France in the last four. Coach Walid Regragui said before the quarterfinal: “Before it was just the Moroccans who supported us, now it is the Africans and Arabs.” Forty years of incremental progress had led to that night.
The 2026 picture
A record nine automatic berths, up from five, means Africa’s representation at the 48-team tournament is unprecedented. The quality is spread across the continent in ways it has rarely been.
Senegal arrive as arguably the most complete African squad in the tournament’s history. Ranked 14th in the world, Sadio Mane anchors a side with Kalidou Koulibaly, Pape Gueye and Edouard Mendy in support.
Coach Pape Bouna Thiaw has set the tone: “If I lose even a second of my belief that I can win the World Cup with Senegal, I will step down.”
They also carry a burning sense of injustice. Stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title by CAF after their players walked off in January’s final, with the trophy handed to Morocco, that grievance has been converted into fuel. They open against France on 16 June in New York.
DR Congo are the most intriguing wildcard. They eliminated both Cameroon and Nigeria in qualifying before edging Jamaica in an intercontinental playoff. Ivory Coast return after a 12-year absence with Amad Diallo, Simon Adingra and teenager Yan Diomande leading a young, electric attack.
Ghana, without the injured Mohammed Kudus but with Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo leading the line, face England, Panama and Croatia but will expect to qualify.
The structural shift
What has changed is not just individual talent but the diaspora pipeline. European-born players of African heritage choosing the continent of their parents over the nations where they grew up is now the norm rather than the exception. Morocco’s 2022 squad was the most prominent example. Senegal, DR Congo and Ivory Coast operate the same model. The talent pool Africa draws from is effectively global.
The 48-team format provides structural help too. With 16 third-placed sides advancing, a single bad result need not end a campaign. For nations that historically found the knockout rounds difficult to reach, that matters.
The honest reckoning
None of this dissolves the gap. No African side has won the tournament. No African side has reached the final. The quarterfinal ceiling that Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana hit has proved stubborn. Morocco broke it once. The question in 2026 is whether any side can go further still.
Senegal are the most credible candidate. DR Congo the most compelling story. Ivory Coast the wildest card. All three have the squad depth and coaching quality to reach the final eight. Whether one of them can then go two, three, four rounds further, past the elite of South America and Europe, remains the great unanswered question of African football.
