Africa has rewritten FIFA World Cup history after an unprecedented nine of its 10 teams from the continent secured places in the Round of 32 in the 2026 tournament, smashing the previous record of just two African teams reaching the knockout stage in a single edition. Historically, only six African countries have qualified for the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup, with several teams making multiple appearances. The record for the most African teams qualifying in the same tournament occurred in 2014, when both Algeria and Nigeria advanced to the knockout stage during the World Cup held in Brazil. After 17 days of competition, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria, Congo and Cabo Verde all booked their places in the knockout rounds.
Tunisia is the only nation from the continent which failed to qualify for the knockouts from Africa. The latest qualifiers came on Sunday in dramatic fashion as Algeria played out a 3-3 draw with Austria. Locked at 2-2 deep into stoppage time, captain Riyad Mahrez appeared to have won the match with a late strike before Austria equalised on the final play. The result was enough for both teams to progress from the group. Democratic Republic of Congo earned a landmark 3-1 comeback victory over Uzbekistan to register the country's first-ever World Cup win and seal a maiden appearance in the knockout phase. Their reward is a daunting Round of 32 clash against England, but the Central African nation is already celebrating a historic breakthrough.