2026 World Cup: Potential opponents for African teams in the round of 16

03.07.26 FT World Cup

Colombia

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Ghana

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Four teams have already booked their tickets to the round of 16 at the World Cup: Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, and Morocco.

While the first fixture is already set, with Canada facing Morocco on July 4 at NRG Stadium, the other seven round of 16 matchups are yet to be determined.

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

After Tunisia’s elimination in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, South Africa exited the competition in the round of 32, falling to Canada (0-1).

Seven African teams are still in contention for a place in the round of 16: Ivory Coast, Ghana, DR Congo, Egypt, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Algeria.

Two all-African clashes could materialize in the round of 16: Cape Verde vs Egypt and Algeria vs Ghana—provided all four teams punch their ticket to the next round.

Here are the potential round of 16 matchups for African teams at the 2026 World Cup:

July 4:

Canada vs Morocco

July 5:

Brazil vs Ivory Coast

(Mexico or Ecuador) vs DR Congo

July 6:

(United States or Bosnia and Herzegovina) vs Senegal

July 7:

Algeria vs Ghana

Cape Verde vs Egypt

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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