Major League Baseball is in full swing, the NBA and NFL seasons will be starting soon, and there will be all kinds of African diaspora representation across the major leagues once again this year. But if you have enjoyed watching African nations and athletes competing in the Olympics, you may feel more like checking out some more sports from an African perspective.
No matter where you are in the world, soccer is considered almost as a religion and the national teams are followed and supported in that manner. The FIFA World Cup in 2026 will give citizens from the African diaspora a better chance to get behind their national teams, with the event being held in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Fans are already getting excited, with significant activity on all the major sportsbooks, including the New Jersey sports betting apps. New Jersey challenged a federal law in court and won, leading to the Supreme Court overturning a nationwide ban on sports betting.
But will your favorites be coming to the US? The qualification process has already begun – and thrown up a few surprises. So, we thought we would take a look at the current state of play, as well as look back on times when African teams stunned the world and shone at soccer’s most prestigious event.
Qualifying for World Cup 2026
The really exciting news for any African soccer fan is that the 2026 World Cup will be the biggest in the history of the competition. For the first time ever, there will be 48 nations competing to get their hands on the famous gold trophy. In 2022, there were just five places open to African teams. For the event taking place in just two years’ time, there could be 10 African countries on show.
There are two rounds of qualifying for African teams. The first stage began at the end of 2023 and the second, a playoff round to determine the African representative in the inter-confederation playoffs, will take place in November 2025. But let’s get back to the first stage of qualifying first.
The group stage has split the entrants into nine groups of six teams, where each nation will play the others in its group on a home and away basis. Only the group winners will automatically qualify for the World Cup finals in the US, Canada, and Mexico. With such intense competition in African soccer, this means that we may not see some of the traditionally successful nations at the finals at all.
At the time of writing, four rounds of play have been completed. This means that there is still a long way to go before we know which countries – and their fans – can start planning their World Cup finals itineraries. The remaining match dates are scheduled for March, September, and October of 2025.
The Big Teams
When it comes to African soccer, the big names include Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Cameroon. The North African powerhouses of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt have all made their presence felt at previous World Cup finals too. So, how are they all getting on so far in this qualifying campaign?
Nigerian fans probably have the most to fear at the current time. After four games, the Super Eagles are yet to win a single game, drawing at home against South Africa and Lesotho, with another draw away in Zimbabwe and a loss to Benin. There are still six games to go, of course, but there needs to be a change in fortune quickly if Nigeria is not to miss out on the North American tournament.
Other big players are more on course to make the finals in 2026. Egypt, Cameroon, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, and Tunisia all currently find themselves in more familiar positions of leading their groups. Only Algeria from that group lost a game in the first four rounds, while Morocco has won all three of its games in a group that has become smaller due to Eritrea withdrawing from the competition.
African Success at the Soccer World Cup
All of the names we have already mentioned already have a healthy pedigree at World Cup finals, with multiple qualifications for many of them. Cameroon has made it to the most events – eight in all – with soccer fans worldwide remembering the performances of the Indomitable Lions at Italia 90 especially.
Tunisia, Nigeria, and Morocco have all managed to make it to six finals, with the latter being able to claim itself as the most successful African nation ever by making it to the final four of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Only a defeat to France in the semifinal ended the dreams of the Atlas Lions two years ago
MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will swap football for soccer in 2026
Other Big Competitions
Although World Cup qualification will be on the minds of every soccer fan throughout the African diaspora, there is one other particularly important competition taking place in the meantime. While World Cup qualifying campaign takes a pause for the remainder of the year, the top teams will be hoping to make it to the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will take place in Morocco at the end of next year.
Qualification for that competition begins in September and an intense campaign is scheduled to finish before the end of the year. There is a better chance for the big nations to make it to the AFCON finals, of course. But, for the likes of Nigeria, some morale-boosting victories could serve as a much-needed impetus to go into the World Cup games in 2025.
Africa at the World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is a great opportunity for African nations to shine on the global stage and the fans, in particular, are always the most colorful in attendance. The 2026 edition promises to be another incredible occasion – we will now just wait to see which of us will be able to cheer on our own teams.
