World Cup: African teams impress Henry

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Former France international Thierry Henry says he is delighted to see African teams excel at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico after nine of the 10 qualified teams from the continent progressed to the Round of 32.

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Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo and Algeria all booked places in the knockout stage in a record-breaking performance for Africa.

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Previously, the continent’s highest representation in the knockout rounds of a single World Cup was two teams, achieved during the 32-team tournament era.

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At the expanded tournament, Africa now boasts the highest qualification rate to the knockout stage, with 90 per cent of its teams advancing, according to Opta.

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CONMEBOL ranks second with five of its six representatives progressing, representing an 83 per cent success rate, while UEFA had 13 of its 16 teams reach the Round of 32 for an 81 per cent qualification rate.

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Henry, who is working as a pundit for Fox Sports during the tournament, weighed in on the continued growth of African football and credited the continent’s national teams for recruiting dual-nationality players earlier in their careers.

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“Obviously, having more teams in the competition allows countries to have these opportunities, but it’s not only African countries at the end of the day,” Henry said.

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“You talk about guys who can play for two countries. You have Balogun with the US and we have Michael Olise, who picked France.

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“Back in the day, we had different guys with different roots who were born and raised in France, but now a lot of African countries are recruiting those players much earlier.

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“I know how those teams are and how good they are, and it’s so nice to see African teams do well.”

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