CAF Sends Message to Morocco and South Africa After Reaching 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32
- CAF has celebrated the first two African countries to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
- Morocco defeated Haiti 4-2, while South Africa defeated South Korea 1-0 to reach the Round of 32
- For Bafana Bafana, it was their first time in the knockout stage, while the Atlas Lions are no strangers
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has sent a message to its first representatives in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Morocco and South Africa progressed to the knockout stage of the tournament after winning their final group games to finish second in Groups C and A.
Source: Getty Images
The Atlas Lions battled to a 4-2 win over Haiti, twice coming from behind to win, while Bafana Bafana squeezed out a 1-0 win over South Korea.
South Africa achieved a historic knockout stage, having failed to get past the group stage in their past three tournaments, while the Atlas Lions reached the semi-final in 2022.
CAF sends message to Morocco and South Africa
CAF shared a post on its Instagram page celebrating Morocco and South Africa for being the first African nations to reach the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup.
The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia have been eliminated, but the remaining seven countries, including Senegal with zero points, remain in contention to qualify.
The continent had an increased quota at the 48-nation tournament and have been well represented. It would be a massive achievement if nine of them progress from the group stage.
Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, and debutants Cape Verde are all in a good place ahead of the final match, while Senegal and DR Congo have tough tasks ahead.
What the coaches said
For South Africa, their next opponent has been confirmed as co-hosts Canada, while Morocco are waiting to know their opponents, which is likely to be the Netherlands if they win Group F.
Moroccan head coach Mohamed Ouahbi dismissed the idea of having a preferred opponent between the Netherlands, Sweden or Japan.
“I do not have a preferred opponent. Tomorrow we will know the team we will face, and we have three different possibilities ahead of us, each with its own style of play.” Ouahbi said, via Morocco World News.
“We are at the World Cup, and we came here with great ambitions. We have the desire and the ambition, and we are ready for everyone.
“We have to prepare ourselves first, and then analyse the opponents. We have even already analysed the performances of the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden.”
Source: Getty Images
Hugo Broos will retire from football management after the World Cup and was happy to have one more game to manage after making history for Bafana Bafana.
“I said it already in the past that probably it will be one of the last games of my career, and when you can end a career like I had in this way, I think everybody or every coach dreams of it,” he told SuperSport.
Ronwen Williams aims dig at critics
Legit.ng previously reported that Ronwen Williams aimed a sly dig at South Africa’s critics and doubters after the team reached the knockout stage.
The captain and goalkeeper expressed his happiness at being the leader of the team that stayed resilient despite the level of criticism they faced.
Source: Legit.ng
