South Africa

Africa’s performance at World Cups peaked at Qatar 2022 when Morocco became the first side from the continent to reach the semifinal stage.

Even their quarterfinal appearance was noteworthy – the Atlas Lions were only the fourth African nation to get there.

Although Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana are the three other African teams to reach the quarterfinals, North Africa has dominated the continent’s success overall at the World Cup and at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Egypt are the record seven-time winners of AFCON, while three of the top five African qualifiers for World Cup finals are Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

Al Jazeera breaks down the chances of the sub-Saharan nations looking to outshine their neighbours from the north at the tournament which kicks off on June 11:

SENEGAL

World Cup Appearances: Four – 2002, 2018, 2022 and 2026
Best finish: Quarterfinals
Overall record: P12 W5 D3 L4 F16 A17
FIFA ranking: 14
Prediction: Eliminated at quarterfinal stage

Senegal head to World Cup 2026 with a burning sense of injustice firing their campaign. The Lions of Teranga were stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which decided the mid-game walk-off by the Senegalese players and staff voided January’s final – which was later awarded to Morocco, along with the trophy, as a 3-0 win.

In 2002, Senegal upset the odds and reached the ⁠quarter-finals in their World Cup debut at the tournament co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

More than two decades later, expectations are running high – perhaps carrying the greatest expectation on all African teams, including Morocco.

The depth of the 26-man squad is seen as their greatest strength over continental neighbours, but their star power is also envied by rivals.

Sadio Mane remains the country’s greatest export. Although midfield kingpin Pape Gueye, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and captain Kalidou Koulibaly would grace almost any side at the tournament.

All three are French-born and another shot at the two-time winners of the competition is in their sights.

A 1-0 win against then defending champions France at the 2002 edition announced Senegal as a rising footballing powerhouse. Their first Group ⁠I encounter this time around is against Didier Deschamps side in New York on June 16.

“It’s always a pleasure to play against France. It’s a country we know well,” said Senegal coach Pape Bouna Thiaw, who moved to France aged 17.

“If I lose even a second of my belief that I can win the World Cup with Senegal, I will step down,” he added.

Senegal’s group is completed by Iraq and Norway.

GHANA

World Cup Appearances: Five – 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022 and 2026
Best finish: Quarterfinals
Overall record: P15 W5 D3 L7 F18 A23
FIFA ranking: 74
Prediction: Eliminated at quarterfinal stage

Ghana have only missed one World Cup since their 2006 debut.

Four years after their global bow they became the third African side to reach the quarterfinal stage at Germany 2010.

Their run-up to this tournament has not been smooth, with a late change of coach as veteran Portuguese Carlos ⁠Queiroz replaced Otto Addo following a run of poor results.

The German-born former Ghana international led his nation at Qatar 2022, but the ⁠failure to qualify for the last AFCON and comprehensive losses in their four high-profile games in November and March saw him fired in early April.

It will be a fifth successive World Cup for the 73-year-old Queiroz, whose past African experience has been with South Africa and Egypt, and who managed Real Madrid, and was Alex Ferguson’s right-hand man at Manchester United.

Group L, against Panama, England and Croatia, appears to be the ‘group of death’ in the opening stage of the competition, but with Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo leading a strong attack, Ghana will fully expect to progress.

“I think that this country has a huge, enormous potential. This is a country of footballers,” Queiroz said.

The Black Stars will, however, be without the injured Tottenham forward Mohammed Kudus, who has become the team’s talisman and key factor in their last two successful qualifying campaigns.

IVORY COAST

World Cup Appearances: Four – 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2026
Best finish: Group Stage
Overall record: P9 W3 D1 L5 F13 A14
FIFA ranking: 34
Prediction: Eliminated at quarterfinal stage

The Ivory Coast return to the global stage after a 12-year absence – one that was hard-felt following the retirement of some of their greatest players in Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba.

It has been a long rebuild for the Ivorians, but they have won two AFCON titles since their last World Cup appearance.

Their youthful attack led by teenager attacker Yan Diomande, alongside Simon Adingra and Amad Diallo of ⁠Manchester United, will be key to their chances.

When hosting AFCON two years ago, Ivory Coast were nearly eliminated in the group stage, but they promoted Emerse Fae from assistant manager for their final game of the opening phase and went on to win the title.

“I believe Ivory Coast has the potential to achieve something exceptional – why not aim for the final?” Fae said ahead of the tournament, that will begin with matches against Curacao, Ecuador and former world champions Germany.

CAPE VERDE

World Cup Appearances: One – 2026
Best finish: NA
Overall record: NA
FIFA ranking: 69
Prediction: Eliminated at group stage

One of the debutants, Cape Verde – with a population of about ⁠600,000 – is the third ⁠smallest nation to qualify in the tournament’s long history.

They only debuted at AFCON in 2013, but did go on to reach the quarterfinals – a feat repeated in 2023.

The task before them now – which will be led by their diaspora of players in the main – is daunting, with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and European champions Spain, lying in wait in the group stage.

“We’ve always been aware of our talent but ‌we haven’t always believed that it could take us much further than we had achieved up to that point,” said manager Bubista, named African Coach of the Year in 2025.

“Therefore, it took courage to face any opponent. The first step in our success was truly believing in our potential. In other words, we changed the players’ mindset.”

SOUTH AFRICA

World Cup Appearances: Four – 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2026
Best finish: Group stage
Overall record: P9 W2 D4 L3 F11 A16
FIFA ranking: 60
Prediction: Eliminated at round of 32 stage

After a burgeoning beginning to their return to the international fold, with qualification for the 1998 World Cup, South Africa’s fortunes have taken a downtown in the last 16 years.

A first appearance in the finals since 2010 feels long overdue for a nation hoping to reap the rewards of strong domestic growth as they head to North America.

South African ‌club Mamelodi Sundowns are the newly crowned African Champions League winners and eight of their players are in Bafana Bafana’s squad. There are also ⁠eight players from Orlando Pirates – the domestic league champions, who pipped Sundowns to the title by a point.

“We can say that we have players of the best teams of the season. Those guys have much experience at a high level,” South Africa’s Belgian-born coach Hugo Broos said of his 26-man selection.

“I’m certainly happy that Sundowns won the Champions League, because I was afraid that if they should lose, I would get players who would be very ⁠disappointed. So now they all have that boost of confidence, and that ⁠helps a lot.”

South Africa are in the other so-called ‘group of death’ as they take on Czech Republic, South Korea and co-hosts Mexico, who they face in the opening game of the tournament

DR CONGO

World Cup Appearances: Two – 1974 and 2026
Best finish: Group stage
Overall record: P3 W0 D0 L3 F0 A14
FIFA ranking: 46
Prediction: Eliminated at quarterfinal stage

DRC’s only previous appearance was when it was still known as Zaire, competing at the 1974 finals in West ⁠Germany – the first African side from south of the Sahara to go to the World Cup.

As reigning continental champions, their 9-0 thumping by Yugoslavia did little to raise the flag for Africa at the time.

Much has changed since then for the continent and in its second-largest country. The Congolese players will arrive in North America with a FIFA ranking that outstrips three of the other five sub-Saharan qualifiers.

It did take two playoffs to reach this edition – the African legs saw the Congolese eliminate Cameroon and Nigeria, before edging Jamaica in extra time in their intercontinental playoff

Most of the squad are European-born, either in Belgium, France or Switzerland, plus the London-born Aaron Wan-Bissaka, previously called up by England but who missed out on a cap through injury.

“We ‌are ‌extremely proud because a whole generation hasn’t been able to see its national team in the World Cup but now they will see them there,” said their French coach, Sebastien Desabre.

The violence prompted 300 Mozambicans to return home by their own means over the weekend, with more than 500 still in the country now beginning the official repatriation process.

At least five Mozambican nationals have been killed in “xenophobic attacks” in South Africa over the weekend, the Mozambican government said, marking the first deaths officially linked to country-wide protests against undocumented immigration.

About 800 Mozambicans got caught up in violence that broke out in the southern coastal city of Mossel Bay on Friday, the government press office said in a statement received on Tuesday.

“Regrettably, seven Mozambican citizens have died, five of them as a direct consequence of the xenophobic attacks and the other two as a result of a road accident, when they were travelling in a private vehicle on their way back to Mozambique,” the statement said.

The violence prompted 300 Mozambicans to return home on Saturday, said the statement.

“The remaining just over 500 have since been sheltered in a safe location in the Western Cape Province, and as of today, 1 June, the process of their repatriation to Mozambique is already underway,” it said.

South African police said on Sunday they were investigating the deaths of two men at an informal settlement in Mossel Bay, a port town about 380km (236 miles) east of Cape Town, where xenophobic attacks had been reported.

They did not say whether the deaths were linked to the protests. It was also not immediately clear what nationalities the two men were.

But the area mayor, Dirk Kotze, voiced “deep concern and dismay at the current xenophobic attacks where people have been murdered, houses burned and families displaced”.

The region has seen anti-migrant protests similar to those reported in the financial capital Johannesburg, Durban and parts of the Eastern Cape province in recent weeks.

South Africa has faced recurring waves of xenophobic violence since 2008, when dozens of migrants were killed and thousands displaced in attacks across the country. Similar flare-ups occurred in 2015 and 2021.

The latest spike in anti-immigrant tensions comes as political parties seek support before local government elections in November.

Bafana Bafana’s departure was delayed due to non-issuance of visas for several players and support staff.

The South African national team members have left for their World Cup training base in Pachuca, Mexico, in advance of their opening game against the tournament cohosts on June 11.

The delegation that left on Monday did not include assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, who has yet to obtain a United States visa.

The charter flight departed Johannesburg following a frantic 24 hours after the squad was originally scheduled to leave on Sunday, but was held back by a delay in obtaining visas in what was described as an administrative bungle by the South African Football Association (SAFA).

Mkhalele, a former international winger who played 66 times for Bafana Bafana, including at their World Cup debut in France in 1998, will have to travel later after his visa application was initially denied.

Blaming the US Consulate General in Johannesburg for the delay, SAFA president Danny Jordaan told the South African Broadcasting Corporation, “They refused the visa, but gave no reasons. It is very difficult to deal with the process where you get no information.”

“We don’t know [why it was denied], we are clutching in the dark, but we hope the matter will be resolved [soon]. All of the players are [on the flight] and 99 percent of the technical staff.”

South Africa are due to play Jamaica in a friendly on Friday before taking on Mexico in the showpiece opening match in Mexico City.

“Now we are very happy that we can go to Mexico,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said. “The past days have been a little bit stressful with all the problems we had, but those problems are behind us now, and we can focus on what’s coming.”

“These 10 days go very fast. Once we get there, we will start working, focusing on the first game against Mexico, so time will pass very quickly. I think everybody is looking forward to starting the World Cup.”

South Africa are in Group A and will face Czechia in Atlanta on June 18 and South Korea in Monterrey, Mexico, six days later.

They are appearing in their fourth World Cup and looking to advance from the group stage for the first time.

Foreign workers in South Africa are yet again facing violence and protests by anti-immigrant groups. They accuse them of residing and working in the country illegally and are demanding that they leave by June 30.

South Africa has seen recurrent waves of anti-immigrant violence in the past decade – often directed at other African nationals.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the country has become a destination for thousands of workers from neighbouring countries. But many South Africans say the government is not upholding its immigration laws.

So, does South Africa still need foreign workers?

Presenter: Tom McRae

Guests:

William Gumede – Associate professor, School of Governance at the University of the Witwatersrand

Lindiwe Zulu – Member of the ANC Committee on International Relations and a former South African minister of social development

Ashraf Essop – Immigration lawyer

The first flight carrying around 300 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa following anti-immigrant tensions and reported attacks on foreign nationals has arrived in Accra. Authorities welcomed returnees with reintegration support and transport assistance.

JOHANNESBURG — The government in South Africa and Afrikaner advocacy groups on Wednesday rejected the position of the Trump administration that there’s a humanitarian emergency affecting white people in South Africa.

The argument served as the rationale for raising the U.S. refugee cap, but only for white Afrikaners. The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will admit an additional 10,000 white South Africans into the U.S. as refugees this year, increasing its annual cap, but blocking people from other countries from entering through the program.

President Trump’s announcement on the Federal Register that he was increasing the refugee cap because of “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation.” He blamed the South African government for “recent increases in the incitement of racially motivated violence,” but Trump gave no specific information.

The South African government’s international relations department said Wednesday that accusations of systemic persecution of white Afrikaners are unfounded, pointing out that some beneficiaries of an immigration program have chosen to return to South Africa.

“This reality is further corroborated by the actions of individuals who, despite having availed themselves of this preferential immigration program, have since resolved to return home,” spokesman Chrispin Phiri said.

Afrikaner trade union, Solidariteit, argued that refugee status isn’t a viable solution for Afrikaners, who should thrive in South Africa instead. Spokesman Jaco Kleynhans said that the organization hadn’t discussed any “unforeseen emergency refugee situation” with the Trump administration, but respects the autonomy of U.S. refugee policy toward Afrikaners.

The union “is in no way aware of anything that the Trump administration could be referring to,” Kleynhans said.

AfriForum, a lobbying organization for the country’s white Afrikaner minority with more than 300,000 members, said it “does not have information” regarding the specific assertion that there’s an emergency refugee situation.

The organization’s CEO, Kallie Kriel, said the group’s focus is “fighting to create the circumstances in South Africa where there is no need for Afrikaners to leave.”

Trump suspended the U.S. refugee program on his first day in office and, since then, has turned it into a vehicle to allow Afrikaners — a group of white South Africans descended mainly from Dutch settlers — into the United States. Advocates say the decision to focus a decades-old program on one group has left people around the world fleeing war and strife stranded and with few options.

Refugee groups have questioned why white South Africans are being prioritized ahead of people from countries facing war and natural disasters. Vetting for refugee status in the U.S. often takes years.

The Trump administration’s preference for white Afrikaner refugee admissions, according to Dr. Bryony Fox, a social justice researcher at Stellenbosch University, raises questions about selective humanitarianism, inconsistent refugee protection and favoring privileged groups, while ignoring other refugee populations experiencing severe hardships.

“This risks politicizing refugee protection in a way that may ultimately weaken the legitimacy and universality of the refugee regime itself,” she said.

Gumede writes for the Associated Press.