Ten African Nations Historically Qualify for 2026 World Cup Knockout Stage

Agency. Ten nations from Africa historically qualified for the 2026 World Cup. After Congo defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 on Saturday night and Algeria drew a thrilling 3-3 with Austria, nine of those teams have managed to enter the knockout stage.

Previously, the maximum number of African teams to reach the knockout stage in a single edition was only two. After 17 days of competition, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo, and Algeria have secured their places in the last 32.