CAF Releases Statement on Egypt, Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire As They Eye First World Cup Knockout Stage
- CAF has sent a message to three African teams as they prepare for their 2026 FIFA World Cup opening games
- South Africa and Morocco have played, but no African team has yet to pick up the maximum three points so far
- Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt and Tunisia are next in line as all three targets reaching the knockout stage for the first time
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has published a statement on three African countries ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup opening games.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is gradually hitting its stride as two African countries have been in action, with three more expected on days three and four.
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Bafana Bafana of South Africa lost 2-0 to co-hosts Mexico in the opening match, while Morocco held five-time world champions Brazil to a 1-1 draw.
The Atlas Lions scored the first goal and won the first point by an African side as the continent awaits its first win at the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
CAF releases new statement
CAF published a series of previews on its official website as the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire, Pharaohs of Egypt, and Carthage Eagles of Tunisia prepared for action.
Cote d'Ivoire will face South American nation Ecuador, Egypt will take on European nation Belgium, while Tunisia will take on Sweden.
All three countries have targets on their back as they bear the burden of wanting to become the first African country to win at the 2026 tournament.
For Egypt, it is even more difficult as they have never won on the global stage in their seven matches, despite being the first African to feature in 1934.
All three countries have a thing in common: they have never gone past the group stage of the World Cup, despite featuring in more than three editions each.
Côte d'Ivoire featured in 2006, 2010 and 2014, and were eliminated in the group stage in all, and after a two-edition absence, they are back on the world stage.
The Carthage Eagles featured in 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022, and were knocked out in the group stage in all, and on their seventh attempt, they hoped for a different outcome.
The seven-time African champions have surprisingly been poor on the world stage. They have never won a game and have never made it past the group stage.
This year, top star Mohamed Salah and head coach Hossam Hassan, who represented Egypt at the 1990 World Cup, hope to break those barriers.
Source: Getty Images
“Egypt should take its rightful place in football. Back in 1990, I think we did something good although we did not follow it through,” Hassan said as quoted by CAF.
“We played well, came close to going through, but it was not meant to be. So I hope, God willing, we can finally go through.”
FIFA President sends message to Africa
Legit.ng previously reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino believes that an African nation is capable of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Infantino tipped Senegal and Morocco to lead the charge for an African title win, particularly with an increased slot of 10 teams this year.
Source: Legit.ng
