By Oluwatobi Omotosho
Seven African countries have qualified for the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, underlining the continent’s impressive performance at the expanded tournament.
Morocco, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cabo Verde, Senegal and Ghana have all secured places in the knockout stage, while Algeria and DR Congo remain in contention ahead of their final group matches on Sunday.
Morocco finished second in Group C after a 4-2 victory over Haiti and will face Group F winners the Netherlands in the Round of 32 on June 29.
South Africa reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in their history after recovering from an opening defeat to co-hosts Mexico. Bafana Bafana drew with Czechia before defeating South Korea to finish second in Group A and set up a clash with Canada on June 28.
Côte d’Ivoire also progressed as Group E runners-up after victories over Ecuador and Curaçao and will face the runners-up from Group I on June 30.
Egypt booked their place after finishing second in Group G following a 1-1 draw with Iran and will take on Australia in Dallas.
Tournament debutants Cabo Verde continued their impressive campaign by finishing unbeaten in Group H with draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. They will now face defending champions Argentina in the Round of 32.
Senegal advanced as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams after a 5-0 victory over Iraq in their final Group I match.
Ghana also qualified for the knockout stage before their final Group L fixture after results elsewhere guaranteed their progression.
Algeria remain in contention and will battle Austria for the Group J runners-up spot on Sunday.
DR Congo also have a slim chance of progressing from Group K but must defeat Uzbekistan and hope Portugal lose to Colombia.
Elsewhere, hosts Mexico and the United States, along with Germany, Argentina, France, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador and Sweden have also qualified for the Round of 32.
Tunisia are the only African nation eliminated so far, alongside Haiti, Türkiye, Jordan, Panama, Qatar, Czechia and Curaçao.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first edition to feature 48 teams, with the top two teams from each of the 12 groups and the eight best third-placed teams advancing to the Round of 32.
