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Chuka Onwumechili, Professor of Communications, Howard University

World Cup final 16: African performances mark a definitive moment in football

World Cup Africa Football Fifa Morocco a World Cup Qatar Senegal Algeria Nigeria
Senegal fans at the World Cup in Qatar. Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

For Africa to have multiple teams go beyond the group phase to reach the Round of 16 in a World Cup is a milestone. The remarkable result at the 2022 men’s Fifa World Cup in Qatar – which saw Senegal and Morocco move into the knockout stage is Africa’s best performance at the World Cup since 2014. That year both Nigeria and Algeria reached the final 16. This is a pleasing performance after a dismal 2018 World Cup when none of the African representatives went beyond the group stage.

Reaching the Round of 16 is an important marker, but what could be even more sustaining is having Morocco reach the final eight in the quarter-finals. Senegal’s hopes were dashed by a knockout loss to England. Previously, three African teams have reached the quarter-finals: in 1990 (Cameroon), 2002 (Senegal) and 2010 (Ghana).

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