With just a few weeks to go until the FIFA World Cup 2026™, the qualified teams from around the world have had the opportunity to play warm-up matches, whilst the final teams punched their ticket via the FIFA Play-Off Tournament and European play-offs.
As Congo DR were busy booking their spot in North America, the nine African nations that had already qualified were able to test their mettle – often against other World Cup qualifiers – as they tried out new systems, players, and even fresh approaches under newly appointed managers. FIFA takes a look how they got on.
A flawless few days
It was smooth sailing for Côte d’Ivoire as they perfectly navigated two tough friendlies against World Cup opposition, soundly beating Korea Republic 4-0 and seeing off Scotland in a 1-0 win. Martial Godo had a dream debut, setting up Evann Guessand before grabbing a goal of his own. Simon Adingra and Wilfried Singo joined in on the goals against a porous Korea Republic defence.
Three days later, they went toe-to-toe in a tight match against Scotland, but Nicolas Pepe’s goal earned The Elephants a 1-0 victory in Liverpool.
Senegal also went two from two in their friendlies, beating Peru 2-0 and The Gambia 3-1. In a packed Stade de France in an atmosphere that felt akin to a home match, the Lions of Teranga dominated the match from start to finish. Goals from Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr put them in control before the African side saw out the game in comfortable fashion.
Back on home soil, they sent the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio into a frenzy thanks to goals either side of half-time from Abdoulaye Seck and Ibrahim Mbaye, who was set up by Sarr. Lamine Camara sealed the victory in injury time after The Gambia had pulled a goal back.
Reassuring performances
Algeria experienced two very different matches: thrashing Guatemala 7-0 before drawing a blank against a stubborn Uruguay side in a goalless stalemate. In their opening match in Genoa, the Fennecs cruised to victory thanks to a superb performance from Amine Gouiri. The Marseille star bagged a brace of goals and won a penalty — duly converted by his captain, Riyad Mahrez. Achref Abada, Houssem Aouar, Fares Ghedjemis and Nadhir Benboual also joined in on the goal-fest.
However, at the Stadio di Torino the following Tuesday, the Algerians had to dig deep to get a result against La Celeste. Enzo Zidane has often played in front of Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Federico Vinas.
Egypt also had a productive international break with a comfortable 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia and a hard-earned goalless draw against Spain. The Pharaohs were full of confidence after completely dominating Herve Renard’s side, thanks to Islam Issa’s opener, Mahmoud Trezeguet’s diving header, Zizo’s lob and Omar Marmoush’s thunderous strike.
Four days later in Spain, the Egyptian defence kept a red-hot Spanish side at bay thanks to an excellent performance from goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who made a string of saves to deny efforts from Ferran Torres, Pedri and Yeremy Pino.
Neil El Aynaoui scored twice and captain Achraf Hakimi provided two assists as Morocco drew 1-1 with Ecuador and secured a 2-1 win over Paraguay. On Friday against Ecuador, the Atlas Lions struggled to break down the resolute South American side’s defence before eventually conceding the opening goal against the run of play. However, after seeing his penalty saved in the 62nd minute, El Aynaoui made amends late in the game when he headed home from a corner in the 88th minute to score his first goal under Mohamed Ouahbi.
Against Paraguay on Tuesday, Morocco dominated the first half but were unable to break the deadlock, before proving more clinical in the second half. Two crosses from an overlapping Hakimi led to a quickfire double from Bilal El Khannouss and El Aynaoui, which was enough to seal the 2-1 victory.
Valuable learning experiences
South Africa played Panama twice at home, but things did not go quite to plan for manager Hugo Broos. The South Africans dominated early on, but were sloppy at times and were eventually held to a 1-1 draw in Durban, with an Oswin Appollis equaliser cancelling out a fine-flowing Panama team move for the opener.
Four days later in Cape Town, the Bafana Bafana lost 2–1 in what was a much more evenly matched game. Despite conceding two set-piece goals, talented youngster Mbekezeli Mbokazi scored with a stunning long-range strike following a fine through ball from Themba Zwane.
Cabo Verde had a mixed week in New Zealand in the FIFA Series 2026™. With a first World Cup appearance on the horizon, they held their own against Chile for a long time and even took the lead through Dailon Livramento, but Diney Borges’s sending-off allowed the Chileans to take control of the game, scoring three goals after the break – including a superb long-range strike from Maximiliano Gutierrez – to eventually win 4-2.
Bubista’s men returned to Eden Park three days later which saw them get the better of an under-firing Finnish side, who had taken the lead just before half-time. The Cape Verdeans equalised on the hour mark from a corner, before relying on the heroics of their goalkeeper Marcio Rosa to keep the match level before the African side ran out 4-2 winners in the penalty shootout.
Tunisia played two matches at World Cup venue Toronto Stadium and secured a narrow victory over Haiti in the first matchup. After Sebastian Tounekti opened the scoring early on, the Eagles of Carthage managed to keep a clean sheet despite late pressure from Haiti, including thwarting Duckens Nazon’s impressive acrobatic effort.
Their defence was tested once again three days later against a determined Canada side, but thanks to the solid defensive partnership of Omar Rekik and Alaa Ghram, as well as six saves from Abdelmouhib Chamakh, Tunisia managed to keep the Canucks at bay in the goalless draw.
Work to be done
Ghana experienced a turbulent international break, with two defeats leading to the departure of coach Otto Addo, who had managed the Black Stars in Qatar four years ago. They suffered a 5-1 defeat in Austria, with Jordan Ayew – their top scorer in the qualifiers with seven goals – salvaging a consolation goal with a fine solo effort. In Stuttgart, the Black Stars were completely outclassed by a strong German side. While Abdul Fatawu Issahaku had briefly levelled the score following a fine pass from Derrick Kohn, the 2-1 scoreline flattered the African side and didn’t reflect the extent of Germany’s dominance.
