World Cup 2026: Africa trapped by the final minutes

The African teams came agonizingly close to continuing their journey in the 2026 World Cup. But the dying minutes proved fatal, turning their qualification hopes into crushing disappointment.

In total, six of the nine African representatives were eliminated after conceding a decisive goal in the closing moments of their knockout matches.

World Cup 2026: A cruel ending for six African teams

The first to fall was South Africa, knocked out after conceding in the 91st minute. Ivory Coast and DR Congo followed the same harsh fate, each letting in a goal in the 86th minute.

Senegal, for their part, held on until the dying seconds of extra time before conceding in the 125th minute, while Cape Verde saw their dream slip away after a goal in the 111th minute.

Egypt was not spared either. Facing Argentina in the round of 16, the Pharaohs let their lead slip before succumbing to a fatal goal in the 92nd minute, sealing their elimination.

In the end, these statistics paint a harsh reality: the final moments of these matches proved extremely costly for the African sides, putting an end to the ambitions of six teams.

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Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.

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