By Mark Gleeson
ATLANTA, July 10 (Reuters) - African interest at the World Cup ended with Morocco on Thursday, but the continent will be pleased with its results at the 2026 finals, even if it will have no teams in the final four.
The continent had nine of its 10 sides get past the group stage, revelled with the rest of the world in the fairytale exploits of tiny Cape Verde and came close to staging stunning upsets, letting slip precious leads with only minutes to play.
In Qatar four years ago, Morocco
became the first African side to reach the semi-finals, but in the expanded 48-team format in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., they were eliminated in the quarter-finals -- on both occasions by France.
The North Africans were always expected to be a potential contender, especially after giving Brazil a scare in their opening group fixture and eliminating the Netherlands in the last 32.
Egypt were the next best African achievers, winning a World Cup match for the first time and advancing to the last 16, where they led Argentina 2-0 with 11 minutes to play but lost 3-2 amid VAR controversy.
Letting vital leads slip also cost the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, who were 2-0 up with five minutes to go against Belgium but lost in extra time.
Senegal had been expected to lead Africa's charge, with an impressively strong squad, but made horror errors in losing their opening two games to France and Norway and never recovered from having their confidence dented.
"Elimination was a failure. We had the quality to go further. We didn't," said goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
"A competition of this level demands deep introspection. Not just a superficial review, but honest, rigorous scrutiny of everything that was done... uncomfortable truths are often the ones that drive the most progress," he said, hinting cryptically at behind-the-scenes dissatisfaction.
They were likely the only African side to go home feeling they had underachieved, although there was also a sense of what might have been for DR Congo, who led England in their last-32 match until two late goals from Harry Kane.
Ivory Coast will also rue a missed opportunity, having left Norway's Erling Haaland unmarked with minutes to play and paid a heavy price.
EXCITING CONTEST
Cape Verde's heroics, with their 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha capturing worldwide imagination, were key to one of the most exciting contests in a tournament sprinkled with thrilling encounters.
Having already held past World Cup winners — Spain and Uruguay — to draws in the group stage, they twice came from behind to force holders Argentina to extra time in their last-32 tie in Miami before finally succumbing 3-2.
The squad were hailed as heroes when they returned to the archipelago, greeted by crowds lining the streets.
"All those people, everyone was so happy," said Sidny Lopes Cabral, whose goal against Argentina is among the best of the tournament. "They told us we hadn't really lost; sure, we'd been eliminated, but what we'd shown against Argentina felt like a victory to them."
Algeria, Ghana, and South Africa also advanced to the knockout stage with only Tunisia failing. They fired coach Sabri Lamouchi after going down 5-1 to Sweden in their opening fixture, but his replacement Herve Renard could not rescue them.
African football now switches to two successive Cup of Nations tournaments, with the 2027 finals next June in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. A 2028 tournament is also planned, after which the African championship will be played every four years.
The next World Cup will also be partially played on African soil, with Morocco co-hosting along with Portugal and Spain.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
