World Cup 2026: When will an African side lift the trophy?

Africa has previously been held back by its lack of representation at the finals, with colonialism restricting opportunities before a raft of countries declared independence in the 1950s and 60s.

Egypt, in 1934, were the continent’s sole competitor in the first eight editions of the tournament – and Africa boycotted the 1966 finals after Fifa announced it would not have a direct qualifier for that year’s World Cup in England.

The continent sent one side to the 1970, 1974 and 1978 finals – as opposed to at least nine from Europe and three from South America.

Two slots were available from 1982, three in 1994 and five from 1998 onwards when the tournament expanded to 32 teams.

Six competed in 2010 when South Africa hosted, but this year’s 48-team finals in the Canada, Mexico and the United States will see the continent’s biggest ever contingent with nine automatic qualifiers as well as DR Congo, who progressed through the inter-confederation play-offs.

South Africa captain Ronwen Williams, who will lead his team in the tournament’s opening match in Mexico City, believes this year’s World Cup will be “a wonderful moment” for the African game.

“We’ve been on the rise – the leagues, Caf, the [African] Champions League, Afcon,” he told the BBC.

“Everything has improved immensely. For so many countries to go out and compete at the highest level, it’s amazing.”

With 37 wins from 162 previous World Cup matches, Williams and Troost-Ekong believe increased representation, and the change in format which sees two-thirds of teams progressing through the group stage, will be a big positive for improving Africa’s record.

“Making it more accessible is going to be the key factor in the long term for teams to be more competitive,” Troost-Ekong said.

“You need that exposure for improvement. The more experience they get, the more capable they will be with handling pressure.

“Experience is invaluable.”