It is a far cry from Russia 2018 when not a single African nation advanced from the group stage, and it will be intriguing now to see how far the teams can go into the World Cup.
Hopefully at least one can replicate what Morocco did in 2022.
A thrilling 3-3 draw with Austria in Kansas City on the final night of group matches ensured the four points that Algeria needed to advance. They gave up a late stoppage-time goal to finish third and now take on Switzerland in Vancouver on Thursday. Had they come second, they would have had to play Spain.
The islanders are now even more the darlings of the world with another impressive result, this time a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia, who had to win the game, on Friday. Cape Verde’s three draws saw them finish second in the group, ahead of Uruguay. Next up for the Tubaroes Azul … Lionel Messi and Argentina!
A drama-filled comeback in Atlanta on Saturday saw history made as they won their first World Cup game and got the four points they needed to progress. They will now stay in Atlanta and take on England on Sunday.
The Pharaohs were overtaken on goal difference for top place in Group G by Belgium but could easily have slipped into third place behind Iran. In the end, they proved fortunate to finish second and now play Australia in Dallas on Friday but must improve on a dour defensive showing and hope Mohamed Salah is fit after he went off against Iran.
A disappointing 2-1 loss in their final group game against Croatia on Saturday served to pit them up against Colombia in the last of the Round of 32 matches, which will be in Kansas City on Friday. The Black Stars already had four points going into the game in Philadelphia.
The Ivorians were always expected to win but it was still difficult to overcome Curaçao 2-0 in Philadelphia on Thursday and ensure second place in Group E, finishing with the same points as Germany. Now they are up against Norway in Dallas on Tuesday, hoping Nicolas Pepe is among the goals again.
A 4-2 win over Haiti in their last Group C outing saw Morocco forced to twice come from behind and they fell short of their quest to finish ahead of Brazil on goal difference in the standings. So instead of a clash against Japan, they must now play the Netherlands in Houston on Monday.
A 5-0 hammering of 10-man Iraq was enough to see the Senegalese limp through to the knockout stages, where they now meet Belgium in Seattle on Wednesday. Pape Gueye scored twice in a second-half demolition in Toronto that hopefully changes the fortunes of the Senegalese after losing to both France and Norway.
Bafana Bafana play one of the biggest games in their history on Sunday against Canada, hoping to make it all the way to the last 16. Their 1-0 win over South Korea in their last Group A game was finally a performance that fans could recognise after Hugo Broos got the tactics wrong at the start of the tournament.
Already home after losing their last game as well and ending stone last, being one of four sides to finish with no points, alongside Haiti, Jordan, and Uzbekistan. The Herve Renard experiment did not help, although they eventually did show some fight in going down 3-1 to the Netherlands.