African teams justify increased World Cup slots despite criticism

Despite initial criticism from figures like former Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso, who suggested Africa was overrepresented, nine out of ten African representatives reached the knockout stage. This represents a 90% success rate, the highest among FIFA regions. While seven African teams were eliminated in the round of 32, Egypt reached the round of 16, and Morocco made history by becoming the first African team to reach the quarter-finals twice.

A recurring issue for African teams was conceding late goals, with instances involving Senegal losing a two-goal lead and Egypt surrendering a 2-0 advantage to Argentina. Analysts Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic noted a tendency for African sides to lose focus when leading. Morocco's quarter-final loss to France highlighted a remaining gap in quality against top European teams.

Cape Verde, despite not winning a match, impressed with a 0-0 draw against Spain and a close 3-2 loss to Argentina, gaining significant global attention.