The World Cup has never been bigger, and that’s truer in Africa more than anywhere else.
The expanded 2026 tournament has opened up 10 spaces for teams from the continent, and the timing couldn’t be better for them to make history.
Those teams are Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, DR Congo and Cape Verde.
We’re coming off a best-ever result for an African side at a World Cup, with Morocco reaching the semi-finals in 2022, eventually finishing fourth.
We also had a record-equalling two teams in the last 16, with Senegal eventually getting knocked out by England.
Both Morocco and Senegal have since continued to set the standard with their Africa Cup of Nations final at the start of the year.
With that in mind, we begin our guide to African teams at the World cup with the squads that have been officially announced so far.
Official African World Cup squads
Ivory Coast World Cup 2026 squad
Goalkeepers: Yahia Fofana (Rizespor), Mohamed Koné (Charleroi), Alban Lafont (Panathinaikos)
Defenders: Emmanuel Agbadou (Beşiktaş), Clément Akpa (AJ Auxerre), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP), Guela Doué (Strasbourg), Ghislain Konan (Gil Vicente), Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta), Evan Ndicka (AS Roma), Wilfried Singo (Galatasaray)
Midfielders: Seko Fofana (Porto), Parfait Guiagon (Charleroi), Franck Kessié (Al Ahli), Christ Inao Oulaï (Trabzonspor), Ibrahim Sangaré (Nottingham Forest), Jean Michaël Seri (NK Maribor)
Forwards: Simon Adingra (AS Monaco), Ange-Yoan Bonny (Internazionale), Amad Diallo (Manchester United), Oumar Diakité (Cercle Brugge), Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig), Evann Guessand (Aston Villa), Nicolas Pépé (Villarreal), Bazoumana Touré (Hoffenheim), Elye Wahi (Nice)
Manager: Emerse Faé
Tunisia World Cup 2026 squad
Goalkeepers: Aymen Dahmen (CS Sfaxien), Sabri Ben Hessen (Étoile du Sahel), Abdelmouhib Chamakh (Club Africain)
Defenders: Montassar Talbi (Lorient), Dylan Bronn (Servette), Omar Rekik (Maribor), Yan Valery (Young Boys), Ali Abdi (Nice), Moutaz Neffati (IFK Norrköping), Raed Chikhaoui (US Monastir), Adam Arous (Kasımpaşa), Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida (Espérance de Tunis)
Midfielders: Ellyes Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley), Anis Ben Slimane (Norwich City), Hadj Mahmoud (Lugano), Rani Khedira (Union Berlin), Mortadha Ben Ouanes (Kasımpaşa)
Forwards: Elias Achouri (Copenhagen), Ismaël Gharbi (Augsburg), Elias Saad (Hannover 96), Sebastian Tounekti (Celtic), Firas Chaouat (Club Africain), Khalil Ayari (Paris Saint-Germain), Hazem Mastouri (Dynamo Makhachkala), Rayan Elloumi (Vancouver Whitecaps), Elias Saad (Hannover 96)
Manager: Sabri Lamouchi
Congo DR World Cup 2026 squad
Goalkeepers: Lionel Mpasi (Le Havre), Timothy Fayulu (FC Noah), Matthieu Epolo (Standard Liege)
Defenders: Chancel Mbemba (Lille), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley), Arthur Masuaku (Lens), Gédéon Kalulu (Aris Limassol), Joris Kayembe (Genk), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United), Rocky Bushiri (Hibernian), Steve Kapuadi (Widzew Łódź), Dylan Batubinsika (AEL)
Midfielders: Noah Sadiki (Sunderland), Charles Pickel (Espanyol), Edo Kayembe (Watford), Samuel Moutoussamy (Atromitos), Ngal’ayel Mukau (Lille), Nathanaël Mbuku (Montpellier), Meschak Elia (Alanyaspor), Brian Cipenga (Castellón), Gaël Kakuta (AEL), Théo Bongonda (Spartak Moscow)
Forwards: Simon Banza (Al Jazira), Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United), Fiston Mayele (Pyramids FC), Cédric Bakambu (Real Betis)
Manager: Sebastien Desabre
Cape Verde World Cup 2026 squad
Goalkeepers: Vozinha (Chaves), Marcio Rosa (Montana), CJ dos Santos (San Diego FC)
Defenders: Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew), Wagner Pina (Trabzonspor), Joao Paulo (FCSB), Sidny Lopes Cabral (Benfica), Logan Costa (Villarreal), Pico (Shamrock Rovers), Kelvin Pires (SJK), Stopira (Torreense), Diney (Al Bataeh)
Midfielders: Jamiro Monteiro (PEC Zwolle), Telmo Arcanjo (Vitoria Guimaraes), Yannick Semedo (Farense), Laros Duarte (Puskas Akademia), Deroy Duarte (Ludogorets Razgrad), Kevin Pina (Krasnodar)
Forwards: Ryan Mendes (Igdir), Willy Semedo (Omonia), Garry Rodrigues (Apollon Limassol), Jovane Cabral (Estrela Amadora), Nuno da Costa (Istanbul Basaksehir), Dailon Livramento (Casa Pia), Gilson Benchimol (Akron Tolyatti), Helio Varela (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Manager: Bubista
Morocco World Cup 2026 squad
(Team yet to be announced)
Goalkeepers:
Defenders:
Midfielders:
Forwards:
Manager: Mohamed Ouahbi
Ghana World Cup 2026 squad
(Team yet to be announced)
Goalkeepers:
Defenders:
Midfielders:
Forwards:
Manager: Carlos Queiroz
South Africa World Cup 2026 squad
(Team yet to be announced)
Goalkeepers:
Defenders:
Midfielders:
Forwards:
Manager: Hugo Broos
Senegal World Cup 2026 squad
(Team yet to be announced)
Goalkeepers:
Defenders:
Midfielders:
Forwards:
Manager: Pape Thiaw
Egypt World Cup 2026 squad
(Team yet to be announced)
Goalkeepers:
Defenders:
Midfielders:
Forwards:
Manager: Hossam Hassan
Algeria World Cup 2026 squad
(Team yet to be announced)
Goalkeepers:
Defenders:
Midfielders:
Forwards:
Manager: Vladimir Petkovic
Where do the African teams rank?
| CAF Ranking | FIFA Ranking | Country | FIFA Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 8th | Morocco | 1755.87 |
| 2nd | 14th | Senegal | 1688.99 |
| 3rd | 26th | Nigeria (DNQ) | 1585.09 |
| 4th | 28th | Algeria | 1564.26 |
| 5th | 29th | Egypt | 1563.24 |
| 6th | 34th | Ivory Coast | 1532.98 |
| 7th | 44th | Tunisia | 1483.05 |
| 8th | 45th | Cameroon (DNQ) | 1481.24 |
| 9th | 46th | Congo DR | 1478.35 |
| 10th | 52nd | Mali (DNQ) | 1459.13 |
| 11th | 60th | South Africa | 1429.73 |
| 12th | 62nd | Burkina Faso (DNQ) | 1412.49 |
| 13th | 69th | Cape Verde | 1366.13 |
| 14th | 74th | Ghana | 1346.31 |
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