2026 World Cup: like in Qatar, Morocco is the only African representative in the quarter-finals

In Qatar, the Lions of the Atlas caused a sensation by successively eliminating Spain and Portugal to become the first African team to reach the final four of a World Cup. This year, the path is strangely similar to that of four years ago: after finishing second in its group (7 points, tied with Brazil, 1^st), Morocco first had to go through the penalty shootout to overcome the Netherlands in the round of 16 (1-1 at the end of regulation time and extra time), before clearly dominating Canada, despite being a co-host country, with a score of 3-0 in the round of 16.

Result: the Moroccans are, once again, the only representatives from the African continent at this stage of the competition, confirming that their 2022 achievement was not just a flash in the pan.

Disappointment for Egypt

The hope for a double African presence in the quarter-finals disappeared on Tuesday night in Atlanta. After leading 2-0 against Argentina with fifteen minutes left, Egypt dreamed for a long time of a historic feat. The Pharaohs opened the scoring in the 15^th minute thanks to Yasser Ibrahim, before doubling their lead in the 67^th through Mostafa Ziko. But the reigning world champions turned the game around at the very end, with goals from Romero, Messi and Fernández, ultimately winning 3-2.

This elimination, as painful as it may be for Egypt, therefore leaves Morocco as the continent’s only representative in the quarter-finals, exactly as in Qatar, where no other African team progressed past the round of 16.

A rematch against France

To confirm its status, Morocco will have to do better this time than in 2022, when Les Bleus won 2-0 in the semi-final. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 9 in Boston, where Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi, former teammates at PSG, will face each other for the second time in a World Cup.

One thing is certain: four years after making an entire continent dream, Morocco remains, alone, the standard bearer of African football on the world stage.