How African teams have fared so far in the 2026 World Cup

All 48 teams in the 2026 FIFA World Cup have played their first matches, and are fully into the long-awaited biggest football tournament in the history of the sport.

There’s been a lot of drama on and off the pitch, plus bitter experiences for the fans, as well as fantastic records set by the players, and the fate of African teams is currently hanging in the balance.

With the first day of play complete, Ben Ugbana takes a look at the 10 teams representing Africa and how they have performed so far in the ongoing global games in North America.

Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast achieved Africa’s first win in the first round of the group stage. Amad Diallo scored a late goal against Ecuador to earn all three points for his team.

The former African Cup champions will face Germany on the second matchday of Group E.

Cape Verde

Giant plug, Cabo Verde! This was their first World Cup and in the first match, they managed to hold former world champions and top favorites Spain to a goalless draw.

A fitting point for the debutants, whose goalkeeper Vozinha quickly became an internet sensation as his outstanding performances saw his social media followers rise from under 50,000 to over 3,000,000 in a matter of hours.

They will face Uruguay in their next Group H match as all eyes are now on them to continue playing.

Egypt

The Pharaohs earned an entertaining 1-1 draw with Belgium, with the match snatched away by Romelu Lukaku’s forced equalizer for Belgium.

The Egyptian team led by Mohamed Salah failed to achieve their first win in the World Cup. They will play again when they face New Zealand on the second matchday of Group G.

Morocco

The official African champions got off to a pretty good start as they put Brazil ahead, holding the competition’s most successful team to a 1-1 draw.

Morocco, who reached the semi-finals at the last World Cup, did not fail to impress but they had many wasted chances that could have won them the match.

They face Haiti in the second match of Group C.

Congo

DR Congo were playing in the World Cup for the first time in a long time, and they successfully picked up their first point of the tournament against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side.

This African team wasn’t that great but it was enough to keep Portugal within one shot on target throughout the match. They held the European giants to a 1-1 draw.

Tunis

The North African team got off to a bad start, losing 5-1 to Sweden in a one-sided match that forced the Tunisian federation to fire the team’s head coach, Sabri Lamouchi.

Tunisia have since engaged the services of veteran coach Harve Renard, who has returned to training with the team, and will hope to get off to a good start when they face Japan in their second Group F match.

Also Read: Messi scored his first World Cup hat-trick as Argentina beat Algeria

South Africa

Bafana Bafana opened the World Cup in disarray, losing two players to red cards, and losing 2-0 against co-hosts Mexico.

The South African team will hope to revive their campaign when they face the Czech Republic in their second Group A match.

Senegal

The West African side had a good first half against former champions France. Many opportunities were created and opportunities were wasted. They finally paid it forward in the second half.

The French team led by Kylian Mbappe had a smooth second half, with the Real Madrid forward scoring a scoring record with two goals to help his team win 3-1.

Senegal lost. They will look for redemption when they face Erling Haaland’s Norway in the second match.

Algeria

The North African team played against defending champions Argentina, and were soundly beaten by the old war horse, Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick in the match.

Algeria’s Fennec Foxes hope to revive their World Cup campaign as they prepare for their second matchday clash against debutants Jordan in Group J.

Ghana

Ghana’s Black Stars started their campaign on a bright note as a late goal helped them seal a 1-0 win over Panama.

Ghana, playing without Thomas Partey, had less of the ball but, despite running on, cruised to victory to take all three points from the encounter.

They will face England next.