Arsene Wenger Sees African Team Winning World Cup but Highlights What Must Change

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes African sides are closing the gap and it will not be long before a team from the continent wins the World Cup.

No African team has ever won the World Cup with Morocco coming close, when they reached the semi-final before a fourth-place finish, at the 2022 edition in Qatar.

However, there was improved performance at the 2026 World Cup where nine of Africa’s 10 representatives made it to the knockout rounds although most of them were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion.

Morocco were the best-placed African team when they reached the quarter-final before they were outclassed by France but Egypt nearly stunned Argentina in the Round of 16, seeing a two-goal lead slip to lose to a Lionel Messi-inspired team.

Ivory Coast ran Norway close before conceding late while DR Congo almost pulled off a shocker against England only to collapse in the latter stages of the game.

Wenger says those performances prove that Africa is making the right steps as such results were rarely witnessed from past World Cups.

“In the past, African teams sometimes lost because of a lack of compactness, too much distance between the lines and inconsistent concentration,” Wenger said during a CAF Strategy Conference in Cape Verde as quoted by the CAF website.

“At this World Cup, it was difficult to beat any African team because the discipline and organisation were at the top level.”

Looking at how the African teams were eliminated, Wenger says they were let down by small margins such as lapses in concentration at key moments of the game.

“We are very close, but a small percentage can cost you the game. Most of these games were lost by one goal, so every detail in the modern game becomes absolutely vital,” he added.

“Africa has made a fantastic step forward. There is still another step to make. We want to see an African team win the World Cup, and the numbers show that it is feasible.”

The legendary coach then told Africa to be wary of relying only on data given the dynamics that make a successful football team are many.

“The numbers don’t lie, but football is not only numbers. It is also attitude, mental qualities, unity and your value system. Those are things you have to continue working on,” he said.