Africa dominates World Cup knockout berths with 9 teams

AFRICAN football has reached a milestone at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as nine of the continent’s 10 representatives secured places in the Round of 32, shattering the previous record of just two African teams reaching the knockout stage of the tournament.

The historic feat was completed on Saturday after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo booked the final African spots in the expanded 48-team competition.

DR Congo sealed their first-ever FIFA World Cup victory with a spirited 3-1 comeback win over Uzbekistan in Atlanta.

After falling behind early, the Leopards responded through a brace from Yoane Wissa and a goal by Fiston Mayele to finish among the tournament’s best third-placed teams and setting up a Round of 32 clash against England.

Algeria secured a place in the Round of 32 after battling Austria to a 3-3 draw in their final Group J match in Kansas City. The result was enough for the Desert Foxes to edge Iran out of the final qualification spot reserved for the tournament’s best third-placed teams, setting up a knockout clash against Switzerland.

Their qualification completed a historic feat for African football, with Morocco, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal, Algeria and DR Congo advancing to the next stage of the tournament. The nine qualifiers mark Africa’s best-ever representation in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage, with Tunisia the continent’s lone casualty in the group phase.

Ghana also progressed despite a 2-1 defeat to Croatia, doing enough to finish among the best third-placed teams, meaning that the Black Stars will meet Colombia in the Round of 32, while Senegal will face Belgium.

The landmark performance underlines Africa’s growing competitiveness on the global stage, particularly under FIFA’s expanded 48-team format, which increased Africa’s allocation from five to 10 teams.

By qualification rate, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) emerged as the best-performing confederation at the tournament, with nine of its 10 teams, representing a remarkable 90 per cent, advancing to the knockout stage.

South America’s CONMEBOL followed with an 83.3 per cent progression rate, while Europe’s UEFA advanced with 81.25 per cent of its teams. CONCACAF recorded a 50 per cent qualification rate, Asia’s AFC managed 22.2 per cent, while Oceania failed to send a team into the Round of 32.

Round of 32 fixtures involving African teams in Nigerian time

• South Africa vs Canada — June 28, 8:00 p.m.
• Netherlands vs Morocco — June 30, 2:00 a.m.
• Côte d’Ivoire vs Norway — June 30, 6:00 p.m.
• England vs DR Congo — July 1, 5:00 a.m.
• Belgium vs Senegal — July 1, 9:00 p.m.
• Switzerland vs Algeria — July 3, 4:00 a.m.
• Australia vs Egypt — July 3, 7:00 p.m.
• Argentina vs Cape Verde — July 3, 11:00 p.m.
• Colombia vs Ghana — July 4, 2:30 a.m.

The next stage of the tournament begins on Sunday across host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico as African nations seek to extend what has already become the continent’s greatest FIFA World Cup campaign.

Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.