Africa at World Cup 2026: What the Bookmakers Say

For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, Africa will have ten nations representing the continent on football's grandest stage. That's four more than the previous record of 6.

But will this increase be matched by better results?

Morocco’s semi-final run at Qatar 2022 remains Africa's best performance at the tournament, while Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana made the quarter finals in 1990, 2002 and 2010 respectively.

No other African team has gone beyond the Round of 16 at the Mundial.

2026 presents a unique opportunity for the continent. With more African nations than ever before competing, expectations are high that Africa can build on the success of Morocco's remarkable semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup.

But what do the bookmakers think? Are African teams genuine contenders, or are they still viewed as outsiders in a tournament historically dominated by Europe and South America?

If there is one African nation that bookmakers believe can make another deep World Cup run, it is Morocco.

Following their historic journey to the semi-finals in Qatar, the Atlas Lions enter the 2026 tournament as Africa's highest-rated team in the betting markets. Priced around 50.0 to win the World Cup on many of Kenya’s top bookmakers, the Moroccans are the continent’s shortest-priced side in the competition.

Those odds may still suggest that Morocco are outsiders compared to favourites such as Spain, France, England, Brazil and Argentina, but they also indicate a level of respect rarely afforded to an African nation before a World Cup.

Morocco's consistency, tactical discipline and growing pool of elite players have convinced many analysts that another quarter-final appearance is well within reach.

Morocco have been placed in Group C alongside five-time champions, Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. With memorable victories over the likes of Belgium and Portugal in the previous World Cup four years ago, the North Africans will fancy their chances of navigating through this group into the knock-out stages; from where, anything can really happen.

Senegal are widely regarded as Africa's second-best chance of making a serious impact.

Both Senegal and Morocco have locked down the top 2 positions in African football in recent times, with very little separating the two squads, as proven by the tight duel in the African Cup of Nations final at the start of 2026.

Indeed, Senegal did win that final on the pitch, but the match was subsequently awarded to Morocco by default following the controversies surrounding the encounter.

The World Cup presents a chance for the two heavyweights to once again show themselves as the continent's No. 1 team.

Bookmakers have generally priced Senegal around 100.0 to win the tournament, placing them behind Morocco but ahead of other African teams.

Senegal have a much tougher group than Morocco, with two-time champions, France favoured to win a section that also contains a highly fancied Norwegian team, and Iraq.

Not that Senegal would be daunted by the challenge. They did beat France when they made that incredible run to the quarter finals in 2002 - when the French were the reigning champions and the Senegalese were debutants - and will be eyeing an encore when they take on Les Bleus in 2026.

Beyond Morocco and Senegal, bookmakers remain cautious about Africa's chances.

Teams such as Egypt, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Tunisia are generally listed between 300.0 to 500.0 to win the tournament. South Africa, DR Congo and debutants Cape Verde are considered even bigger outsiders.

This does not necessarily mean bookmakers expect these teams to struggle. In the expanded 48-team format, reaching the knockout stages has become more achievable. Several prediction models estimate that at least five African teams have a better-than-even chance of progressing from their groups, which would be seen as good progress, with Africa historically struggling to get multiple teams out of the group phase of the competition.

South Africa will feel they have a reasonable chance of progressing from Group A, which also includes co-hosts, Mexico, Czechia and South Korea, while Cote d'Ivoire may feel disappointed if they do not snatch one of the knock-out tickets from Group E, with Germany, Ecuador and Curaçao being the other teams in the group. The Germans are clear favourites to win, but second place is definitely up for grabs.

Many more African teams will harbour genuine hopes of getting through the group stage, especially with the 8 best third-placed teams also set to progress.

It must be stated that the expanded 48-team format creates an extra round after the group phase relative to previous World Cups, with 32 of the 48 teams progressing to the Round of 32.

The challenge for the African teams will come once the tournament reaches the latter stages, where they are likely to encounter traditional powerhouses from Europe and South America.

Many African football fans will argue that bookmakers have been wrong before.

Senegal shocked defending champions France in 2002 and reached the quarter-finals. Ghana came within a penalty kick of reaching the semi-finals in 2010. Morocco finally broke the barrier in 2022 by becoming the first African nation to reach the last four of a World Cup.

With 10 African nations competing and an expanded knockout structure offering more opportunities for surprises, there is a growing belief that the continent could outperform bookmaker expectations once again.

For now, the bookmakers are saying "not yet."

No African team is among the tournament favourites, and even Morocco's odds imply less than a 2% chance of winning the trophy.

However, bookmakers have become increasingly optimistic about African teams advancing deep into the competition. Morocco and Senegal are viewed as legitimate quarter-final contenders, while several other African nations are expected to challenge for places in the Round of 16.

The most likely outcome, according to the betting markets, is that Africa produces multiple knockout-stage teams and perhaps one genuine title outsider. The dream of a first African World Cup winner may still be some distance away, but the gap between Africa and the traditional football powers has never been smaller.

And if recent World Cup history has taught us anything, it is that African football has a habit of exceeding expectations when the world is watching.