Morocco soaring, Egypt's first-ever win, Ghana holding England, Tunisia gone. Our Africa World Cup 2026 round-up after matchday two, plus the value be
World Cup 2026 African Watch after two rounds is no longer pity coverage.
Africa has proper teams in the knockout conversation now, not just brave stories and “they tried” speeches.
Morocco are moving like a side that remembers 2022.
Egypt finally won a World Cup match.
Ghana dragged England into a goalless group therapy session.
Cape Verde are still unbeaten after Spain and Uruguay.
And Tunisia? Tunisia have already packed their emotional hand luggage.
Round two gave Africa three wins, three draws and four defeats.
That sounds balanced until you read the fine print: some teams have one foot in the next round, some need one clean final-day job, and some are already doing airport mathematics with a straight face.
African Results: Round Two
- Czechia 1-1 South Africa — Michal Sadilek; Teboho Mokoena
- Scotland 0-1 Morocco — Ismael Saibari
- Germany 2-1 Côte d'Ivoire — Deniz Undav (2); Franck Kessie
- Tunisia 0-4 Japan — Daichi Kamada, Ayase Ueda (2), Junya Ito
- Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde — Maxi Araujo, Agustin Canobbio; Kevin Pina, Helio Varela
- New Zealand 1-3 Egypt — Finn Surman; Mostafa Zico, Mohamed Salah, Mahmoud Trezeguet
- Norway 3-2 Senegal — Marcus Pedersen, Erling Haaland (2); Ismaila Sarr (2)
- Jordan 1-2 Algeria — Nizar Al-Rashdan; Nadhir Benbouali, Amine Gouiri
- England 0-0 Ghana
- Colombia 1-0 DR Congo — Daniel Munoz
Who's Flying
Morocco are the headline act.
They drew with Brazil, then bullied Scotland 1-0 with Ismael Saibari scoring after 71 seconds, because apparently the Atlas Lions now start games before everyone else has adjusted their shin pads.
Four points, top of the group conversation, Haiti next.
This is not underdog energy anymore.
This is “we’ve been here before” energy.
Egypt deserve their flowers too.
Mohamed Salah turned up after half-time against New Zealand and decided history needed editing.
Mostafa Zico scored, Salah scored, Trezeguet finished it, and Egypt got their first World Cup win at last.
For a country with that much football pride, waiting until 2026 for a first win is slightly mad, but Lagos people know one thing: late food still fills the stomach.
Ghana also did grown-man work against England.
Carlos Queiroz set up to frustrate, and England fell for the trap like a big club in a wet midweek away game.
No shots on target in the first half, Harry Kane living off scraps, and Ghana walking away with four points from two games. Be honest — you expected England to win that. Ghana looked at the script and tore it.
Then there is Cape Verde. Spain first. Uruguay next. Two games, two draws, no fear.
Kevin Pina scored their first-ever World Cup goal from 31 metres, Helio Varela came off the bench to punish a defensive mess, and the Blue Sharks are still alive.
Some countries come to the World Cup to take pictures. Cape Verde came to stress giants.
Africa is no longer asking for respect at this World Cup. Morocco, Egypt, Ghana and Cape Verde are collecting it by force.
Who Embarrassed Themselves
Tunisia. Again. At this point, the dustbin has their name on it in permanent marker.
After losing 5-1 to Sweden, they followed it with a 4-0 defeat to Japan in the 1,000th World Cup match.
Nine goals conceded in two games. Zero points. Eliminated before the final group match.
Herve Renard came in mid-tournament and looked like a man asked to mop the Atlantic Ocean with tissue paper.
Senegal are next on the worry list.
Losing to France is one thing.
Losing 3-2 to Norway after giving Erling Haaland more service than a Lagos buka at lunchtime is another.
Ismaila Sarr scored twice, so the attack had life.
But Kalidou Koulibaly made the kind of errors that make captains start giving interviews with sad eyes.
Senegal now need to beat Iraq and hope the best third-place door has not closed.
DR Congo also had a cold reality check.
The draw with Portugal felt like a movie. Colombia made the sequel boring.
Lionel Mpasi kept them alive for as long as he could, but Daniel Muñoz eventually broke the door down.
Now they need to beat Uzbekistan. No vibes. No history speech. Just win.
Dustbin Award
Tunisia. Two matches, nine goals conceded, no points, already out.
The Qualification Picture
Morocco and Egypt are the safest African picks on the table.
Both have four points, both can still win their groups, and both should be thinking beyond “just qualify” now.
Ghana are also in a strong spot on four points, but Croatia next is not a friendly handshake; it is a proper test.
Cote d'Ivoire have three points and control their route if they beat Curacao.
Algeria have three points and a straight fight with Austria.
Cape Verde can turn two draws into a beautiful story if they beat Saudi Arabia.
Then come the calculator teams. DR Congo need to beat Uzbekistan.
Senegal need Iraq and help from the best third-place table.
South Africa need South Korea, but we are not doing emotional investment there.
Tunisia are gone. Finished. Their final match against the Netherlands is now a farewell email with boots.
The Nigeria Corner
DR Congo took Nigeria’s place, gave Portugal problems, then lost to Colombia. That is the part that makes the chest pain confusing.
Yoane Wissa gave them history in the first match. Daniel Munoz gave them reality in the second.
Now they have Uzbekistan in a win-or-start-packing game, while Nigeria are at home watching the team that beat us on penalties still breathing at the World Cup.
Somewhere, Osimhen has seen enough clips to mute football Twitter for the day.
Football does not care about who should have been there.
It only respects who is there. DR Congo are there. Nigeria are not. Still annoying. Still true.
Ride With Them — Morocco Take The Wheel
The African game to watch today is Morocco vs Haiti.
This is where Morocco stop being “promising” and start acting like group winners.
Haiti are already in trouble, Brazil are still lurking, and Morocco cannot waste the work they did against Brazil and Scotland by making this messy.
Betting angle (African underdog value): Cape Verde to beat Saudi Arabia on Friday. Spain could not break them. Uruguay could not break them.
And Saudi Arabia just shipped four to Spain.
The Blue Sharks have two points, a settled shape and a genuine shot at walking straight into the knockouts, that is value, not sentiment.
For today, though, we ride with Morocco. They have the structure, the swagger and the scars from 2022.
This is not a team learning how to belong. This is a team trying to decide how far it wants to go.
So who are you backing now — Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria, or are you still watching DR Congo with one angry Nigerian eye?
18+. Bet responsibly. Odds and team news correct at the time of writing.
