The FIFA World Cup is football’s biggest competition, with multiple countries contesting to become the champions of the world. While an African country has never lifted the tournament since its inception in 1930, the continent has produced several iconic moments at the tournament.
African countries have made history and players have dazzled on the biggest stage of all. In this article, we highlight five of the most iconic African moments in World Cup.
Morocco 2022
Morocco made history at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by becoming the first African nation to reach the last four of the tournament. The Atlas Lions had finished top of their group, which also included the likes of Croatia, Belgium and Canada.
Their fairytale run continued with shock wins over Spain and Portugal in the knockout stages, although they eventually lost 2-0 to France in the semifinals.
Morocco would go ahead to lose the third place play-off to Croatia, as they finished fourth in the tournament.
Egypt 1934
Egypt became the first African country to appear at the FIFA World Cup when they featured at the 1934 edition in Italy.
The Pharaohs sealed qualification after recording a comprehensive 11-2 aggregate win over Palestine.
However, they were eliminated in the first round after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Hungary, ending their tournament.
Morocco 1986
Despite several African countries making a debut at the FIFA World Cup since Egypt’s first appearance in 1934, it was not until 1986 that a country from the continent qualified for the second round of the tournament, when Morocco reached the round of 16.
The Atlas Lions were making their second appearance following their debut in 1970 and produced a remarkable performance to finish top of a group that also included England, Poland and Portugal.
Their run was ended in the round of 16, when they were beaten by West Germany.
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South Africa 2010
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was hosted in South Africa, making them the first African nation to host the prestigious tournament.
The country had narrowly missed out on the 2006 edition, but pipped Morocco and Egypt for the 2010 edition.
South Africa went on to produce one of the shock results in FIFA World Cup history, defeating France 2-1 in their final group match, although they were eliminated at the group stage.
Tunisia 1978
Tunisia became the first African country to win a match at the FIFA World Cup with a 3-1 victory over Mexico in their Group 2 opening match.
However, the Eagles of Carthage failed to make it out of the group after recording a draw and one defeat in the remaining two group matches.
