Former Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Mba has scored Africa’s representation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup high, but also admits that there is room for improvement.
Africa had nine automatic spots and earned an additional one through the playoffs, bringing the number to 10 countries – including a debut tournament for Cabo Verde.
With the exception Tunisia, Africa witnessed multiple teams (9) reach the knockout phase of the World Cup tournament, a remarkable progress in the Continent’s history.
Sharing his thoughts, Sunday Mba said African teams have enough quality to even achieve more.
Morocco and Egypt reached the last 16, but the Pharaohs lost to holders Argentina while the Atlas Lions were eliminated in the quarter-final by France.
“African teams have improved, but I still don’t think we’ve done enough,” Mba told Brila.net. “We should be aiming to go beyond what we’ve achieved because the quality is there.”
He identified game management as a crucial weakness with African teams and insists addressing that flaw could be the difference for African teams.
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“If you watch the tournament again, you’ll see that many African teams lost concentration in the final minutes. They were leading games but couldn’t see them out. That’s something we have to improve.”
On game management
“I kept asking myself why so many African teams conceded late in matches. When you’re close to the end of the game, you need the concentration and composure to finish the job. That’s where we have to get better.”
On the positives for Africa, Mba said:
“Overall, I don’t think Africa had a bad tournament. We’ve made progress, but we still haven’t reached the level we should be aiming for. There’s still room for improvement, and we have to keep pushing forward.”
