Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has expressed confidence that an African nation will soon win the FIFA World Cup following what he described as the continent’s strongest-ever performance at the 2026 tournament.
Africa was represented by 10 teams at the expanded 48-team competition—Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. Nine of the 10 teams advanced to the knockout stage, giving the continent a record 90 per cent qualification rate, the highest in its FIFA World Cup history.
According to CAF, while African teams accounted for 20.8 per cent of the tournament’s participants, they made up 28.1 per cent of the Round of 32 qualifiers, a figure exceeded only by UEFA in the knockout phase.
Morocco once again led Africa’s challenge by reaching the quarter-finals for the second consecutive World Cup, building on its historic semi-final appearance at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Egypt also progressed to the Round of 16, while Cabo Verde, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, South Africa, Ghana and Tunisia earned praise for their performances.
“I am very proud of their performances,” Motsepe said in a statement, describing Africa’s record qualification rate for the knockout rounds as a landmark achievement for the continent.
He disclosed that CAF has identified areas requiring improvement and will convene a technical conference involving national team coaches, technical staff, former players and football experts. The conference will review Africa’s performance at the 2026 World Cup and develop recommendations to strengthen preparations for the 2030 edition.
Motsepe also reaffirmed CAF’s commitment to investing in youth development, grassroots football and the professional game across its 54 member associations. He stressed that sustained investment remains essential if African nations are to consistently compete with the world’s leading football powers.
The CAF president added that the organisation would continue working closely with players, coaches and other stakeholders to realise the long-held dream of an African country winning the FIFA World Cup, while acknowledging that greater planning, investment and technical development are still needed to bridge the gap with football’s traditional giants.
