By: Hee-Dee Walenga
The 2026 FIFA World is in full swing. The 23rd edition of the world’s favourite sporting event is a historic one for Africa. For the first time, there are ten African nations participating at the World Cup.
South Africa
Bafana Bafana kicked things off with a rematch of the iconic 2010 World Cup opener in Johannesburg against 2026 co-hosts Mexico.
Appearing in their first World Cup since 2010, South Africa was not able to live up to the excitement, providing a lackluster performance in a 2-0 loss to the co-hosts.
Sphephelo Sithole had an afternoon to forget, giving the ball away for El Tri’s opener in the first half and then receiving a red shortly after halftime. Themba Zwane was sent off late in the second half as well.
“I think it should be better that they shut up,” South Africa’s head coach Hugo Broos told critics.
DR Congo
Playing in their first World Cup since 1974 when they were known as Zaire, DR Congo made history by holding European giants Portugal to a 1-1 draw.
Portugal took the lead after just 6 minutes, but The Leopards held their own throughout the match and equalised through a header from Newcastle United’s Yoane Wissa before halftime.
It was DR Congo’s first-ever goal in a World Cup as well.
Morocco
The “Brazilians of Africa,” as dubbed by their captain Achraf Hakimi. The captain put up a stellar performance against the famous Seleção.
Ismael Saibari opened the scoring shortly before the hydration break, before Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior equalised 10 minutes later.
Morocco are the only African side to have reached a World Cup semi-final, having done so in 2022. The Atlas Lions’ golden generation are poised for another deep World Cup run.
Cape Verde
A nation of just ~529,600 people, Cape Verde’s presence alone at the World Cup is a historic one. It is their first time ever in the competition and they are the third-smallest country to play in the competition.
They made further history by picking up their first point in the competition by holding tournament favourites Spain to a 0-0 draw. Despite an onslaught from the Spaniards, they managed to keep 27 out of their goal.
Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha, became a global sensation overnight. Prior to the match, he had 50,000 followers on Instagram. At the time of writing, he has 13.5 million followers.
Côte d’Ivoire
The Elephants needed a 90th minute winner from Manchester United’s Amad Diallo to beat Ecuador 1-0. The two sides traded blows throughout an entertaining fixture.
19-year-old Yan Diomande announced himself to the world with an electric man of the match performance on the right flank for Ivory Coast.
Tunisia
Led by Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ellyes Skhiri, Tunisia did not cover themselves in glory by losing 5-1 to Sweden. The performance was so bad that the North African side fired their head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, after the opening game.
A man who has become synonymous with African football, Herve Renard, was hired to replace him. Tunisia will be the 6th African country Renard has managed (Ghana, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, and Angola).
Egypt
The Pharaohs, playing in their fourth World Cup, have never won a match at the tournament.
Emam Ashour opened the scoring with his first international goal against the star-studded Belgium midway through the first half.
It took Romelu Lukaku coming off the bench in the second half to play a role in Belgium’s equaliser and prevent the Pharaohs from collecting their first ever three points in the tournament.
Senegal
The Lions of Teranga were faced with the daunting task of taking on France in their opener. The match proved how fine the margins at the elite level of football are.
Senegal looked the better side in the first half. Nicolas Jackson hit the post and Ismaïla Sarr missed a sitter in the first half. The missed chances came to rue in the second half when the stars of France began shining. Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe began purring, leading Les Blues to a 3-1 victory.
Senegal famously beat France 1-0 in the 2002 World Cup, a result that is still spoken about today.
Ghana
The Black Stars beat Panama 1-0 to deny the Central American side their first ever World Cup points thanks to a 95th minute winner from Caleb Yirenkyi.
