CAF President Patrice Motsepe believes an African nation is closer than ever to winning the FIFA World Cup following the continent’s impressive performances at the 2026 tournament.
Africa enjoyed its best-ever World Cup campaign, with nine teams progressing from the group stage and Morocco reaching the quarter-finals, while Egypt, DR Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, South Africa, Cape Verde and Ghana were among the nations to reach the knockout rounds.
Speaking after the tournament, Motsepe praised the performances of Africa’s representatives and insisted the continent’s long-awaited dream of producing a world champion is within reach.
“We set very high standards for ourselves. We’ve got very high expectations. Our clear objective, and we are now more confident than ever before coming from the FIFA World Cup, is to see an African nation becoming champions of the world. I’m more convinced than ever before that can indeed happen.”
The CAF president, however, stressed that success must ultimately be measured by winning the trophy.
“We’ve got a clear expectation that until we have that trophy on the African continent… you can see we came very close.”
Motsepe also pointed to the performances of nations such as Egypt and Cape Verde as evidence that African teams can compete with the world’s best.
He added that continued investment in youth development, stronger cooperation with governments and greater unity across African football would be crucial if the continent is to achieve its World Cup ambitions.
