Africa has rewritten the history books at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a record nine nations reached the Round of 32, marking the continent’s greatest ever performance on football’s biggest stage.
Algeria and DR Congo completed the historic achievement on Sunday to join Morocco, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cabo Verde, Senegal and Ghana in the knockout rounds. Only Tunisia failed to progress after finishing bottom of their group without a point.
DR Congo booked their place with a superb 3 1 comeback victory over Uzbekistan in Atlanta, securing their first ever World Cup win. Yoane Wissa struck twice while Fiston Mayele also found the net as the Leopards climbed into the eight best third placed teams. They now face England in the Round of 32. Reuters reported that coach Sébastien Desabre praised his side’s resilience and said belief and unity had driven their remarkable journey.
Algeria also sealed qualification after an entertaining 3 3 draw with Austria in Kansas City. The Desert Warriors finished third in Group J with four points behind Argentina and Austria but did enough to advance as one of the best third placed teams. The result also ended Iran’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
Africa’s success is unprecedented. Before the expanded 48 team tournament, the continent had never sent more than two teams into the World Cup knockout rounds. This year, nine of its ten representatives have progressed, underlining the growing strength and depth of African football on the global stage.
The historic showing means more than one quarter of the 32 teams left in the competition are from Africa, giving the continent its strongest chance yet of producing a deep World Cup run. With heavyweights such as Morocco, Senegal, Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire joined by surprise packages including Cabo Verde and DR Congo, Africa heads into the knockout phase with confidence and genuine belief that more history can still be made.
