World Cup 2026: Africa's amazing success leaves Asia looking for answers

Key Points:

• Africa's performance at the 2026 World Cup has dramatically improved, with nine of ten African teams advancing past the group stage, a stark contrast to 2018 when none progressed beyond the groups.
• This success is attributed to long-term investments in youth development, coaching, and professional leagues, exemplified by Morocco's rise to the semi-finals in 2022 and their structured football development blueprint.
• The expanded World Cup format, increasing African slots from five to ten, has provided more opportunities, but Africa's success also reflects genuine progress, unlike Asia, where only two of nine teams advanced and overall performance declined.
• African teams feature a high number of players competing in top European leagues, enhancing their competitiveness, whereas many Asian teams have fewer players in strong leagues, highlighting a development gap.
• Asia faces significant challenges following poor results, including coaching changes and calls for organizational reform, indicating a need for greater investment and development to match Africa's progress on the world stage.