Africa Makes FIFA World Cup History as 9 of Its 10 Teams Advance to Round of 32

Addis Ababa, June 28, 2026 (FMC) — Africa has made FIFA World Cup history after nine of its 10 representatives advanced to the Round of 32 of the expanded 2026 tournament, marking the continent’s best-ever collective performance at football’s biggest global showpiece.

The historic milestone was confirmed at the conclusion of the group stage, with Algeria sealing qualification following a dramatic 3-3 draw against Austria, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo secured its place with a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan, advancing as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams.

The nine African nations to reach the knockout stage are South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cape Verde. Tunisia was the only African representative to exit the tournament after the group stage, giving the continent an unprecedented qualification rate of 90 percent in the first-ever 48-team FIFA World Cup.

The achievement underscores Africa’s growing influence in global football. While the expanded format has provided more opportunities for nations to compete on football’s biggest stage, the continent’s record-breaking performance also reflects the rising quality, depth and competitiveness of African football.

Cape Verde emerged as one of the tournament’s biggest stories by becoming the smallest nation ever to reach the FIFA World Cup knockout stage. Making its tournament debut, the Atlantic island nation defied expectations to advance to the Round of 32, adding another historic chapter to Africa’s record-breaking campaign and underscoring the continent’s growing depth on football’s biggest stage.

Morocco, meanwhile, continued the momentum built by its historic run to the semifinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, reaffirming its status as one of Africa’s leading football powers with another place in the knockout rounds.

Africa’s representatives now turn their attention to the Round of 32, where South Africa will face Canada, Morocco will take on the Netherlands, Côte d’Ivoire will meet Norway, Senegal will play Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will face England, Algeria will take on Switzerland, Egypt will meet Australia, Ghana will play Colombia, and Cape Verde will face defending champions Argentina as the continent seeks to extend its historic run at the tournament.