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The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City tomorrow afternoon when South Africa face the host nation. Ten African nations will compete across the next 39 days. This is the state of each of them, the morning before the biggest continental sporting moment in Africa's football history.
South Africa: The Honour and the Pressure of Going First
Bafana Bafana open the tournament and therefore open the entire expanded World Cup. Their match against Mexico tomorrow is the first of 104. Hugo Broos has a squad built around Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena, and Relebohile Mofokeng, with Lyle Foster leading the attack. Their warm-up record includes a 0-0 draw with Nicaragua that told Broos very little about his best eleven because he rested his Sundowns players. Williams won the CAF Champions League final eight days before this match. Mokoena scored the decisive goal. Both travel to the Azteca carrying something most players never experience: a continental title fresh in the memory. South Africa have not been at a World Cup since 2010. Tomorrow changes that.
Morocco: The Closest Thing Africa Has to a Favourite
Morocco open against Brazil on June 13 with a squad that includes Achraf Hakimi, who won the Champions League with PSG two weeks ago, and a coaching setup under Mohamed Ouahbi that is still finding its identity after Regragui's resignation. Their warm-up results were good: a 4-0 win over Madagascar and a 1-1 draw with Norway. The Norway result is the more meaningful data point. Norway, with Haaland, held Morocco at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey. The Morocco defence that held Spain and Portugal in 2022 is still largely intact. Whether the attacking intent that made that run compelling is equally reliable under a new coach is the open question.
Senegal: Koulibaly Fit. The Tarmac Incident Unaddressed. France on June 16.
Koulibaly declared himself fit in an RMC interview this week. The injury, a second-degree muscle tear in his anterior thigh sustained in Al Hilal training, has been managed carefully over six weeks. He is back in full training. He may feature against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Then France on June 16. Senegal's group, France, Norway, and Iraq, is the kind of draw that produces either a round-of-16 exit or a quarter-final run. There is little middle ground when you open against the tournament favourite. Koulibaly's fitness is the most important individual World Cup news for any African nation this week.
Egypt: Salah's Last Stage
Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in their final warm-up, as confirmed by the warm-up results roundup from Football365. Egypt lost the match. More importantly, Mohamed Salah played and came through with no injury recurrence. The hamstring tear that ended his Liverpool career has been managed. He arrives at a World Cup where he is two goals from Hossam Hassan's all-time Egypt record. His coach is Hassan. He will face Belgium on June 15, then New Zealand, then Iran. Egypt have never won a World Cup match. Group G is the most realistic pathway in their history to change that record.
Nigeria: Osimhen Fit, Moffi in Form, The Group Is Brutal
Nigeria beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in the Unity Cup semi-final with Terem Moffi creating both goals for debutant Femi Azeez. Osimhen, who won the Turkish Super Lig with Galatasaray and arrives in form, is the central attacking presence. Their group places them against Spain, Argentina, and New Zealand. The Panama-equivalent of that group is New Zealand. A win there and three points against Spain or Argentina opens the round of 16. Coach Eric Chelle has been consistent rather than brilliant across his tenure. Osimhen fit and scoring is the difference between consistency and the kind of individual moment that defines a tournament.
Ivory Coast: The African Nation in Best Form
Ivory Coast beat France 2-1, beat South Korea 4-0, beat Scotland, and ended warm-ups with a 2-0 win over Philadelphia Union II. Their qualifying campaign was unbeaten across ten matches with no goals conceded. Emerse Fae has built a squad with genuine depth and attacking variety from Doue, Diallo, Guessand, and Bonny. The group includes Spain, Brazil, and Japan. The first match against Japan on June 15 is the opening test. Beating Japan would announce Ivory Coast as a genuine threat in the bracket. The France warm-up result proves the quality is there.
Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana, DR Congo, Cape Verde
Algeria open against Jordan on June 17 with Bensebaini fit. Their possession system under Petkovic is built for control but has not been tested against World Cup-level opposition. Tunisia lost 5-0 to Belgium in a warm-up result that will have alarmed Lamouchi considerably, though Belgium were strong and Tunisia fielded a young squad. Ghana are winless in six and open against Panama on June 17. Carlos Queiroz has six weeks of preparation behind him and the Panama result will define whether that time was well spent or simply insufficient. DR Congo, returning after 52 years, play Uzbekistan on June 20. Their first match is the whole tournament in miniature: win it and the story continues; lose it and the return ends quietly. Cape Verde face Saudi Arabia on June 16. No one expects them to win. They qualified by beating Cameroon. Expectations are not always the measure of possibility.
The World Cup starts tomorrow. Ten African nations are in it. The continent has been building to this since the draw was made, since the qualifying campaign began, since Morocco reached the semi-final in 2022 and showed what was possible. Tomorrow at the Azteca, South Africa will be the first African team to touch the ball in the biggest tournament the game has produced. Everything else follows from there.
