Dailysports News Football news The record for African teams in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup is not a particularly impressive one

The record for African teams in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup is not a particularly impressive one

Only Morocco and Egypt have qualified for the round of 16

Football news Today, 04:56

Sansima Soumari Dailysports's expert Translated by the editors

The record for African teams in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup is not a particularly impressive one

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Of the nine teams that reached the round of 32, only two remain in the tournament.

Yet Africa had made a brilliant start to the tournament in the group stage. Nine of the ten African teams representing the continent had secured their places in the round of 32. But this knockout stage proved fatal for the African sides.

South Africa were knocked out of the competition by Mexico; the DR Congo were eliminated by England; Senegal were knocked out by Belgium; Algeria by Switzerland; Ghana by Colombia; Ivory Coast exited the competition following their defeat by Norway; whilst Cape Verde held their own against Argentina before eventually losing and being eliminated.

Africa now has only two representatives left in the 2026 World Cup: Morocco and Egypt, who knocked out the Netherlands and Australia respectively to reach the round of 16. At this stage of the competition, Morocco will face Canada and Egypt will take on Argentina.