News Focus
- The 2026 World Cup will feature a record 10 African teams after the tournament expanded to 48 countries
- Morocco hope to repeat their historic semi-final run from the 2022 Qatar tournament
- Cape Verde will play at the finals for the first time ever, while DR Congo return after 52 years
- The tournament takes place across the United States, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July
- BBC Sport Africa highlights seven key players who could shine for their nations
Africa will send a record number of teams to the World Cup next summer. The tournament in North America will feature 48 nations for the first time. Ten of those countries will come from the African continent.
Morocco made history in Qatar four years ago. They became the first African side to reach the semi-finals. Now they want to go even further. Cape Verde will make their debut appearance at the finals. DR Congo will return for the first time since 1974.
Here are seven players who could make a big impact for their countries.
Antoine Semenyo (Ghana)
Semenyo was born in London. The 26-year-old plays for Manchester City. He did not win the Premier League this season. However, he did win the FA Cup. He scored the winning goal against Chelsea in the final last month. He used brilliant skill to create that chance.
This has been his best season for scoring goals. He found the net 17 times in the English top flight. He moved to the Etihad Stadium in January. He scored seven goals after that move.
Ghana will need him. Their other big star, Mohammed Kudus of Tottenham, is injured. Semenyo went to the 2022 World Cup but did not play much. He came on as a substitute. Ghana went out in the group stage. They also missed the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Now Semenyo wants to score his first goal at a major tournament. Ghana face England, Croatia and Panama in Group L.
Diomande (Ivory Coast)
The Ivory Coast are back at the World Cup for the first time since 2014. They have one of the best young players in Germany. The 19-year-old plays for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. He won the Rookie of the Season award. He scored 12 goals and made eight assists. His team finished third and qualified for the Champions League.
Big clubs want to sign him. Liverpool and Chelsea have both shown interest. He could cost a lot of money.
He played at Afcon 2025. He started four of his country’s five games. He attempted more dribbles than any other player in the Bundesliga this season. He also won more duels than anyone else. He is very dangerous when he runs at defenders.
Germany will face him in Group E. They will know all about his skills. The Ivory Coast will also play against Ecuador and Curacao. Curacao are making their first appearance at the tournament.
Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
South Africa are back at the World Cup for the first time since 2010. That year they hosted the tournament. Their first goal is to reach the knockout stage. They have never done this before. They went out in the group stage in 1998 and 2002. In 2010 they became the first host nation to fail to reach the last 16.
Williams is their captain. He plays for Mamelodi Sundowns. He is a goalkeeper. He became famous for saving penalties. He stopped four spot kicks in a shootout against Cape Verde. This happened in the Afcon 2023 quarter-finals.
The 34-year-old says he loves being captain. He has plenty of experience in big games. He just won the African Champions League with Sundowns.
South Africa play the opening game of the tournament. They face co-hosts Mexico on 11 June. Then they play the Czech Republic and South Korea.
Roberto Lopes (Cape Verde)
Cape Verde are a small island nation. They have had amazing success recently. They reached the quarter-finals at Afcon 2023. Then they finished above Cameroon in qualifying. Cameroon are one of Africa’s strongest teams.
Lopes is a centre-back. He plays for Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. He was born in Dublin. He is 33 years old. He has a strong Irish accent.
He first heard from Cape Verde through LinkedIn. This is a business networking website. The message was in Portuguese. He ignored it at first. He made his debut in 2019. He only missed one game in World Cup qualifying.
His team face a difficult group. They are in Group H with Spain and Uruguay. Both countries have won the World Cup before. They also play Saudi Arabia. Lopes will need to use all his experience and leadership at the back.
Brahim Diaz (Morocco)
Diaz plays for Real Madrid. He was the star player for Morocco at Afcon 2025. The tournament was held in Morocco. He scored five goals. His team reached the final.
However, he had a bad moment in that final. The score was 0-0 in extra time. He took a penalty. He tried a Panenka chip down the middle. The Senegal goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy, saved it easily.
The Senegal players had walked off the pitch before the penalty. They were protesting the decision. Diaz had to wait a long time to take it. He was taken off early in extra time. He cried as Senegal won 1-0.
Later, an appeals board gave the title to Morocco. Senegal took the case to court. Diaz was born in Malaga, Spain. He played for Spain’s Under-21 team. He only switched to Morocco in 2024. This was after their World Cup semi-final run in Qatar.
He now has a chance to make up for his penalty miss. Morocco face Brazil in their first game. Brazil have won the tournament five times. Then they play Scotland and Haiti in Group C.
Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)
Sarr plays for Crystal Palace in England. He is 28 years old. He has scored 21 goals this season. This is the best total of his career. Nine of those goals came in the Conference League. This helped Palace win their first ever European trophy.
This will be his third World Cup. Senegal went out in the group stage in 2018. Four years ago they lost 3-0 to England in the last 16.
Senegal are the reigning African champions. They won Afcon 2025 on the pitch. They face France in Group I. France have won the World Cup twice. They also play Norway and Iraq. Norway have Erling Haaland in their team.
Senegal beat France in their first ever World Cup match in 2002. France were the holders at that time. Senegal reached the quarter-finals that year. Sarr hopes to cause another upset.
Omar Marmoush (Egypt)
Marmoush joined Manchester City in January last year. The transfer cost £59 million. He has not fully matched that price tag yet. But he did help City win the League Cup and FA Cup this season.
He is 27 years old. He only started eight Premier League games in 2025-26. However, he is a key player for Egypt. He is always in the starting eleven for his country.
He scored twice at Afcon 2025. Egypt finished fourth in that tournament. Now he will play at his first World Cup.
Egypt were the first African country to play at the World Cup. They have won the Africa Cup of Nations seven times. But they have never won a match at the World Cup. They lost in the first round in 1934. They went out in the group stage in 1990 and 2018.
Mohamed Salah is the captain. He has just returned from injury. He had a difficult season with Liverpool. The coach, Hossam Hassan, will look to Marmoush to deliver the goals.