Out of the 10 African nations that qualified for the tournament, nine reached the Round of 32, but only Egypt and Morocco have secured places in the last 16 following dramatic knockout victories.
Egypt became the latest African nation to progress after defeating Australia 4-2 on penalties in their Round of 32 encounter. The match ended 1-1 after extra time before the Pharaohs held their nerve in the shootout.
Emam Ashour opened the scoring for Egypt in the first half, but an own goal by Mohamed Hany in the 55th minute brought Australia level. Neither side managed to find a winner during extra time, forcing the contest into penalties.
The victory marked Egypt’s first-ever knockout-stage win at a FIFA World Cup, earning the Pharaohs a place in the Round of 16, where they will face defending champions Argentina.
Argentina booked their spot after edging Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time in another closely contested Round of 32 fixture.
Morocco had earlier become the first African team to qualify for the last 16 after defeating the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
The Atlas Lions will now face Canada in the Round of 16 as they continue their quest for another memorable World Cup campaign.
Africa’s hopes of a deeper run in the tournament suffered several setbacks after the elimination of most of its representatives.
Côte d’Ivoire lost 2-1 to Norway, DR Congo were beaten 2-1 by England, Senegal suffered a 3-2 defeat to Belgium, while Ghana exited after a 1-0 loss to Colombia.
Cape Verde also bowed out after pushing defending champions Argentina to extra time before losing 3-2, while Algeria failed to progress beyond the group stage.
With only Egypt and Morocco reach World Cup Round of 16, the continent’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals now rest on the two remaining African representatives.
African teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Qualified for Round of 16: Egypt, Morocco
Eliminated in Round of 32: Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Senegal, Ghana, Cape Verde
Eliminated in Group Stage: Algeria
Football fans across Africa will now turn their attention to the Round of 16, hoping Egypt and Morocco can continue their impressive performances and secure places in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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