Saturday 04 / July / 2026
Africa's historic FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign has entered a new chapter, with Morocco and Egypt emerging as the continent's remaining representatives after advancing to the Round of 16.
A record nine of Africa's 10 participating nations reached the expanded tournament's Round of 32, shattering the previous benchmark of just two African teams reaching the knockout stage in a single World Cup. However, only Morocco and Egypt have progressed further through determined performances and dramatic victories.
Morocco booked its place in the last 16 after edging the Netherlands 3-2 in a penalty shootout following a thrilling 1-1 draw after extra time in Monterrey. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou proved the hero by saving Crysencio Summerville's fourth penalty before Ismael Saibari converted the decisive spot-kick to send the Atlas Lions through.
The North African side now stands one victory away from another historic achievement as it prepares to face Canada in the Round of 16 for a place in the quarterfinals. Morocco, the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal at Qatar 2022, has once again demonstrated its credentials with an impressive tournament campaign, including a 1-1 draw against Brazil during the group stage.
Egypt has also written a new chapter in its football history after defeating Australia 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw on July 3. The victory marked the Pharaohs' first-ever triumph in a FIFA World Cup knockout match and extended their unbeaten run at the 2026 tournament.
The Egyptians now face reigning world champions Argentina in Atlanta, aiming to continue their remarkable journey into the quarterfinals.
Africa's record-breaking World Cup campaign saw Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde all advance from the group stage, while Tunisia was the continent's only team eliminated before the knockout rounds.
The achievement eclipsed the previous record set at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, when only Algeria and Nigeria reached the knockout stage. Before the 2026 edition, only six African nations had ever progressed beyond the World Cup group stage.
Among the standout stories, Algeria secured qualification after a dramatic 3-3 draw with Austria, while the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrated its first-ever World Cup victory by defeating Uzbekistan 3-1 to reach the knockout stage.
Cape Verde also enjoyed a memorable tournament on its World Cup debut, advancing without winning a group-stage match after drawing with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. The Blue Sharks became the first team since Chile in 1998 to progress from the group stage without recording a victory.
Despite the loss to Messi-led Argentina, Cabo Verde showed that it is a team worth rooting for, worth all the investment and effort as they took the match into half-time, having things level at 2-2 before an own goal crushed their dreams.
Veteran Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha also entered the history books by becoming only the third goalkeeper aged 40 or older to record multiple World Cup clean sheets, joining England's Peter Shilton and Italy's Dino Zoff.
While Africa celebrated unprecedented success, Asia had only two representatives in the Round of 32—Japan and Australia, with Australia having qualified through the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying campaign.
With Morocco and Egypt still in contention, Africa's hopes of another deep World Cup run remain alive as both nations seek to extend the continent's most successful FIFA World Cup campaign to date.
