Nine African teams advance to World Cup round of sixteen, a historic record for the continent
via Le Matin1 min read
Nine African national teams have qualified for the World Cup round of sixteen, marking a historic record for the continent. Morocco, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Cape Verde, Senegal, Algeria, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all progressed. Tunisia was the only African team not to advance, finishing last in its group with three defeats. The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams contributed to more available slots for African teams, which successfully seized their opportunities on the field. Five nations finished second in their groups: Morocco, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Egypt, and Cape Verde. Senegal, Algeria, Ghana, and DR Congo qualified as the best third-placed teams. The round of sixteen will feature challenging matches for the African representatives. Morocco will play the Netherlands, Cape Verde will face reigning world champions Argentina, Ivory Coast will be up against Norway, and Senegal will meet Belgium. Algeria is set to play Switzerland, Egypt will face Australia, DR Congo will challenge England, Ghana will play Colombia, and South Africa has already played Canada. Following Morocco's historic achievement in Qatar in 2022, becoming the first African country to reach a World Cup semi-final, African teams are demonstrating increasingly high ambitions on the international stage.
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