Can an African team win the 2026 World Cup? [Africanews Debates]

 

For the first time, Africa will be represented by 10 teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, raising hopes that the continent will achieve another historic run on the biggest stage in world football.

The tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will be the first to bring together 48 teams. African representation will thus increase from five teams in 2022 to ten in 2026.

This was the theme of the June edition of "Africanews Debates", which brought together sports journalists Angela Mensa, Kelvin Owusu Ansah, Philemon Mbale and Quentin Gesp.

The debate focused on which African nations are best placed to challenge the traditional powerhouses of world football and on whether Morocco's historic achievement at the 2022 World Cup can be repeated.

Morocco has remained a benchmark in African football since becoming, in Qatar, the first African and Arab country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. Since then, the Atlas Lions have consistently been among the strongest teams on the continent and easily secured their qualification for the 2026 tournament.

The speakers also reviewed the ambitions of other African contenders, including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, and Algeria, all determined to go as far as possible in this expanded competition. The African representatives at the tournament will be Algeria, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.

Watch the full debate to discover the participants' predictions on Africa's chances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.