Coupe du monde 2026 : les sélections africaines plombées par leur mauvaise gestion des fins de match
The final minutes of matches are becoming the real Achilles' heel of African teams in this 2026 World Cup. While nine representatives from the continent had managed to secure their qualification for the round of 32, several of them saw their adventure end in a particularly cruel way, unable to preserve a favorable result in the decisive moments.
So far, four African teams have been eliminated, and all have one thing in common: they conceded a fatal goal in the very last minutes of regulation time or extra time.
The 86th minute proved particularly fatal for several African teams. It was at this precise moment that Erling Haaland secured a 2-1 victory for Norway against Ivory Coast. Moments later, Harry Kane also found the net in the 86th minute, giving England a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Senegal, for its part, experienced an even more cruel scenario. While the Lions of Teranga seemed to have secured their qualification, Romelu Lukaku revived Belgium's hopes in the final minutes of extra time before Youri Tielemans definitively sealed the fate of the match (3-2 after extra time).
South Africa was not spared this curse either. Bafana Bafana conceded a goal in the 90+2 minute against Canada, seeing their qualification hopes vanish in the final seconds of the match.
According to data relayed by Stats Foot, this inability to manage the end of matches is a worrying trend for African teams in this World Cup. So far, only Morocco has managed to overcome the round of 32 hurdle, eliminating the Netherlands after a penalty shootout (1-1, 3-2 on penalties), thus avoiding the trap that has cost several of its continental neighbors so dearly.
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