African football has enjoyed a historic FIFA World Cup campaign, with nine of the continent’s 10 representatives advancing to the knockout stage of the expanded 48-team tournament, underlining the growing strength of the game across Africa.
Cape Verde have emerged as one of the tournament’s biggest surprises, booking a last-32 clash with Lionel Messi’s Argentina after an impressive debut campaign that has captured global attention.
The island nation, with a population of just over 500,000, became the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup knockout stage. Cape Verde held European champions Spain to a draw in their opening match before earning further draws against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to progress.
Veteran goalkeeper Vozinha became an overnight sensation after producing a player-of-the-match performance against Spain, with his popularity soaring on social media.
The success of Cape Verde and other African teams has strengthened FIFA’s case for expanding the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, despite criticism that the move was driven primarily by commercial interests.
Africa doubled its number of qualification slots for the 2026 tournament, and only Tunisia failed to advance after losing all three group matches and conceding 12 goals.
Several African sides also produced notable results against some of the tournament favourites. Spain, England, Portugal and Brazil all failed to defeat African opposition during the group stage, while Morocco have emerged as one of the strongest contenders after another impressive campaign.
Algerian star Riyad Mahrez said Africa’s performances reflected the continent’s growing football quality.
“When you see nine out of 10 teams going through to the next round in the biggest tournament, that shows a lot. It shows the quality of African football,” he said.
DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre also praised the steady development of football across the continent.
“I have been working on the African continent for 15 years. Federations are becoming better organised, coaches are improving and players are getting better. Africa keeps progressing,” he said.
Desabre expressed confidence that an African nation could soon lift the FIFA World Cup trophy.
“I think and hope that an African team will win the World Cup this year or in the coming years. To me, it is just a matter of time,” he added.
Morocco, who became Africa’s first World Cup semi-finalists in 2022, continued to impress after holding Brazil to a 1-1 draw in the group stage and now face the Netherlands in the Round of 32.
Head coach Mohamed Ouahbi said his players believe they can make history.
“We need to believe in this objective, this target of winning the World Cup. Morocco have entered a whole new dimension. The players believe, the fans believe and our opponents respect our team,” he said.
While Africa celebrated unprecedented success, other confederations endured mixed fortunes.
Curacao secured a memorable goalless draw against Ecuador but exited alongside Haiti and Panama, who failed to earn a point. Meanwhile, only Japan and Australia progressed from Asia despite the continent receiving nine qualification places. Jordan and Uzbekistan ended their World Cup debuts without a point, while Iraq conceded 12 goals in a difficult group.
The expanded tournament has also produced entertaining football, with stars including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Erling Haaland delivering standout performances.
However, the larger competition has reignited debate over further expansion to 64 teams, with critics pointing to a growing number of one-sided matches. The group stage produced eight victories by margins of four goals or more—just one fewer than the combined total recorded across the previous three World Cups.
