CAF president Patrice Motsepe says African football will hold a major review meeting with national team coaches, experts and former players after the continent’s record-breaking performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Africa enjoyed its most successful World Cup campaign in history, with nine of its 10 representatives advancing to the knockout stages of the expanded tournament.
However, despite the unprecedented progress, no African nation managed to reach the semi-finals, prompting CAF to examine what more needs to be done to help teams compete deeper into the competition.
Motsepe said the meeting will bring together key figures from across African football to analyse the performances and identify areas for improvement.
“We are going to host a meeting where we will invite all of the coaches of the national teams that participated in the FIFA World Cup, football experts, legends who have played at the highest level.
“The purpose of the meeting is to talk about what we can do better, what have we learnt from our performances [At the World Cup].
“Where we can improve [as well].
The 2026 tournament marked a significant milestone for African football, with Algeria, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal and South Africa all reaching the knockout phase.
That represented a 90% success rate among Africa’s qualified teams and reinforced the continent’s growing competitiveness on the global stage.
Several nations produced memorable campaigns.
Cape Verde, appearing at their first ever World Cup, became one of the stories of the tournament by progressing from the group stage before pushing Argentina into extra time in the round of 32.
Egypt also impressed after advancing from their group following draws against Belgium and Iran, alongside a victory over New Zealand.
The Pharaohs later eliminated Australia on penalties before narrowly losing a dramatic last-16 tie against Argentina after surrendering a two-goal lead.
Senegal showed resilience throughout the tournament but suffered a heartbreaking exit.
The Teranga Lions lost to Norway and Belgium in dramatic circumstances after leading their round-of-32 tie before conceding two late goals and eventually losing in extra time.
Ivory Coast provided some of the most entertaining football of the competition, with young talents Yan Diomandé and Amad Diallo playing key roles.
The Elephants recorded victories against Ecuador and Curaçao before being eliminated by Norway in a closely contested knockout match.
Algeria also returned to the World Cup stage after missing the 2018 and 2022 editions.
The Desert Foxes recovered from an opening defeat by Argentina to qualify from their group, but their journey ended against Switzerland in the round of 32.
Ghana produced another memorable World Cup campaign, securing qualification to the knockout rounds after a late victory over Panama and a hard-fought draw against England.
Their tournament eventually ended with a narrow defeat by Colombia.
Democratic Republic of Congo, who qualified through the play-off tournament, also made an impact. The Leopards progressed after beating Uzbekistan before being eliminated by England.
South Africa, meanwhile, competed in their first World Cup since 2010 and advanced beyond the group stage.
Despite a difficult start against one of the host nations, Bafana Bafana recorded important results before suffering a late knockout defeat.
While celebrating the progress made, Motsepe believes African football must now focus on converting improved performances into deeper tournament runs.
