The 2026 World Cup is just a couple of months and the excitement keeps building everyday. 

The 2026 World Cup is the first of its kind as the tournament was expanded to accommodate 48 teams and by extension, it has 10 spots for African teams.  The 10 teams that will represent Africa at the World Cup in America include Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria,, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, and DR Congo. 

With 10 teams in the fray, can Africa finally get their hands on the World Cup trophy?

It’s impossible to dispute the fact that every World Cup feels like a shot at greatness and given the continents performance at the World Cup in 2022, there’s the feeling that this one may hold something special. 

In 2022, Morocco finished in 4th place which is the farthest an African team has reached in the competition. Before now, the highest finish by an African team at the World Cup was the quarterfinals with Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana achieving this feat in 1990, 2002 and 2010.

Les EXPLOITS de l’Afrique en Coupe du monde 🌍🏆
1990 – Cameroun 🇨🇲 : Quart de finale
2002 – Sénégal 🇸🇳 : Quart de finale
2010 – Ghana🇬🇭 : Quart de finale
2022 – Maroc 🇲🇦 : Demi-finale
Qui pourrait faire mieux cette année ?? pic.twitter.com/T8RoiOSsq7

— Didier🇨🇮kamou🇨🇮🇲🇦 (@Didier1234kamo) May 6, 2026

With Morocco breaking this wall, you cannot shake the feeling that something special will happen in America especially given the level of football being played by the top African teams. If anything, the entire 2025 AFCON competition and controversial final are proof that there is some serious football being played on the continent.

So back to the question, how far can African teams go at the 2026 World Cup? Let’s take a look at the teams and their groups.

African Teams and Their World Cup Groups

South Africa are in group A with Mexico, Korea and Czech Republic. Morocco are in group C with Brazil, Haiti and Scotland while Ivory Coast are in group E with Ecuador, Curacao and Germany. 

Tunisia find themselves in group F with Netherlands, Japan and Sweden while Egypt complete group G with Belgium, Iran and New Zealand. Cape Verde, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay complete group H while France, Senegal, Iraq and Norway form group I.

🚨REMINDER: THIS IS THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE ✅ 🏆#FIFAWORLDCUP pic.twitter.com/L0bo4iO5dP

— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐒⚽️🖤 (@footballlens7) May 7, 2026

In group J, there is Argentina, Austria, Algeria and Jordan.  Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia complete group K while England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama close group L.

Predictions

At first look, a lot of teams have semi-hard groups which could see many African contigents drop out before the round of 16. 

Realistically, South Africa may not make it out of group A snd the same applies to Tunisia, Cabo Verde, Ghana and Congo, who are qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1974. There is a slight chance that Egypt, Algeria and Ivory Coast also struggle to leave their groups but I see them making it past the group by a very small margin. South Africa also falls into this group.

My Predictions for Senegal and Morocco see them make it out of the group stage but not without a few scares of their own. 

Making it past the group stage is one thing but the round of 16, which is the Achilles heel of many African teams, is another experience. Most African teams fail at the round of 16 and Senegal have been guilty of this on many occasions. Given that all the team being predicted to make it past the group stage will not do it easily, a lot more will see their journey end in the round of 16. On a general note, my prediction is that Africn teams will see their journeys end in the quarter-finals. 

While Morocco and Senegal have all the firepower and given Senegal’s recent successes against England and Brazil, the stakes aren’t only higher for them but for the rest of the World.

Super-powered teams like France, Spain, Portugal, England, Germany and Argentina are all favourites to win and once again, African teams come in as underdogs.

“Hay que saber que por delante muestro hay otros FAVORITOS, QUE LLEGAN MEJOR.

FRANCIAN 🇫🇷 está muy bien otra vez, tiene muchísimos jugadores de un gran nivel.

ESPAÑA 🇪🇸 y BRASIL 🇧🇷, que aunque hace un tiempito no está en su mejor momento, siempre es candidata.

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹… pic.twitter.com/u2f0f02s9j

— Pablo Giralt (@giraltpablo) May 8, 2026

However, this underdog story may not be as exciting as Morocco’s story in 2022. The World Cup will be an exciting one and especialy for African teams but realistically, I don’t see it as one where a team from the continent goes all the way. 

A quarterfinal or semifinal finish looks on the card for the African continent but as we say in football, nothing is scripted and it’s not over until it is over so I do hope something out of the extraordinary happens this time.