ATLANTA (AP) — A historic 10 African countries have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. rear Congo won 3-1 over Uzbekistan Algeria’s stunning 3-3 draw Nine players will head to the finals against Austria on Saturday night.
The previous record was two.
After 17 days of competition, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory CoastGhana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo and Algeria advanced to the round of 32.
Morocco were the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar four years ago, and having already held Brazil to a 1-1 draw, it looks like they could climb back into the top half. The country will co-host the next World Cup in 2030.
To date, only six African countries have made it to the knockout stages (several of which have appeared more than once). The highest number of cases in the same year was in 2014 and 2022.
This year’s tournament showed that the strength of African football has grown even deeper. cape verde and Congo were both surprising names in the Round of 32.
Congo have a difficult task of facing England next, but for now the team is soaking in the moment.
“This is really historic for our country, Congo,” forward Fiston Maiele said after the game. “This is our first win, our first knockout stage. Today I have to be proud here. Almost everywhere in my country, everyone is happy with what we did. We are proud to be Congolese and I think we will continue to move forward.”
Maiele scored in the 78th minute, sandwiched between two goals from Yoan Huissa (a penalty in the 68th minute and another in stoppage time).
Algeria emerged victorious after one of the most thrilling finishes of this year’s World Cup. They were tied at 2-all with Austria in second-half stoppage time and looked content to play for an equalizer until captain Riyad Mahrez scored a surprise go-ahead goal. Austria hit back two minutes later with the final play of the game, but the draw was still enough for both teams to advance.
After Congo’s victory, with the Most Valuable Player trophy by his side, Ouissa talked about the long journey Congo has taken to get here.
“This is the second time in 52 years that we are going to the World Cup. We started qualifying for the World Cup with this group four years ago,” Wissa said. “We drew the first game against Portugal. We lost to Colombia. Now we’re down 1-0 after 10 minutes. Yes, nothing is easy in football. We just have to show resilience and when times like this come we have to enjoy it, because it’s not easy.”
Wissa hopes that success at the World Cup shows that the future is bright for African soccer teams, with young talent paving the way.
“Now every team in Africa can dream big. In the last World Cup, Morocco reached the semi-finals. I think there are eight teams now,” Wissa said. “What happens next will be good for the African team. Now you can see that the youngest players are coming early. We showed the team with (Noah) Sadiki, (Galaair) Mukau. That’s good. It shows that our federation can dream big.”
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