African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 FIFA WorldCup 2026.

[Doan9269]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

[Slow death]

I like the honesty in your analysis and it showed  me despite having a favorite team you want to win, which are the African teams, you didn't not favour them unrealistically and looked at things from your perceived judgements about their performance abilities. For me, out of the four fixtures, the ones I see with the toughest challenges is the match between Egypt and Belgium. I see Egypt as the favorites here but Belgium going but their quality of players can still resist such from happening despite not being as dominant as they used to be couple of years ago but if Egypt team can organize themselves properly, they can get to a win. The second game is between Tunisia and Sweden. When it comes to you predicting who wins or not, Sweden looks like a better candidate but on paper while Tunisia on the other hand has been known for their strong defense and how hard it can get to get to break them down and win nonetheless if Sweden can be more clinical, they may also be able to win.

Ivory Coast has already played and surprised me by managing to beat Ecuador, but they only scored 1 goal. With this victory they are in second place in Group E, they will have to play against Germany (I think it's extremely difficult for them to beat Germany) and they will play against Curaçao, an opponent they can beat.

Unfortunately, in another game involving an African team it was a disaster, Tunisia played against Sweden and lost humiliatingly, conceding 5 goals and managing to score 1. With this defeat I think it's very difficult for Tunisia to advance from this group, their next opponents are Japan and the Netherlands. Tunisia will hardly be able to beat the Netherlands and Japan.

[SatoPrincess]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

True, we can say that there is a silver lining to the story but only Omar Artan knows how he is taking the whole situation. His name will be forever tied to this World Cup incident as the Somalian referee who was denied entry to the US. Omar Artan is now famous - something referees don’t usually get, however, I’m not so sure that it is something he wants to be remembered for.

[Youngrebel]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

Being nominated by FIFA was already a major achievement, and this incident has actually made him popular and has mad more people know more of his journey. And this it is not a small opportunity to be recognized for officiating at the world Cup, this situation has let me understand more that hard work, and dedication can still create new changes even in the most difficult times.

[Merit.s]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

Being nominated by FIFA was already a major achievement, and this incident has actually made him popular and has mad more people know more of his journey. And this it is not a small opportunity to be recognized for officiating at the world Cup, this situation has let me understand more that hard work, and dedication can still create new changes even in the most difficult times.

Even though, the US didn't grant him access to carry out his duties in this world cup, FIFA is still going to pay him in full because he was available but was denied the right.

Of course, when one door is closed another one will be open and it's not like that's the end of the world for us. The US failed in their plan because FIFA gave him one of the best opportunity to officiate in the upcoming Super Cup

[Just Say]

There's a certain Arsenal fan critical of Manchester United youngin and player Amad Diallo. I'll take it that he is keeping a blind eye and refusing to give Amad his props.
He's just had few minutes on the pitch for Ivorian national team and he was fortunate enough to get them the necessary three points against Ecuadorian side and score his debut world cup goal.
More than impressed and he's also recorded more successful take ons more than anyone in this tournament. As a Manchester United fan, I'm already gassed up about this already. Good to see another African side put out a great show and most importantly, grabbing the win.

Ivory Coast won their first match of this FIFA World Cup against Ecuador, but we feel that they may have been lucky to win this match. Actually we never imagined that Diallo would be able to score a goal as a substitute because he was not in the Ivory Coast starting XI in a match like the World Cup, in fact this Manchester United player scored a goal in the 90th minute and it was the winning goal. At the moment it appears that another African nation, Ivory Coast, has made a great start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup but my opinion they deserve to be the second best team in Group E, also that's correct the team's opponent in the upcoming match will be Germany, who defeated Curacao 7-1 in the last match.

[Fiatless]

Ivory Coast won their first match of this FIFA World Cup against Ecuador, but we feel that they may have been lucky to win this match. Actually we never imagined that Diallo would be able to score a goal as a substitute because he was not in the Ivory Coast starting XI in a match like the World Cup, in fact this Manchester United player scored a goal in the 90th minute and it was the winning goal. At the moment it appears that another African nation, Ivory Coast, has made a great start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup but my opinion they deserve to be the second best team in Group E, the team's opponent in the upcoming match will be Germany, who defeated Curacao 7-1 in the last match.

Ivory Coast is the first African side to win a game in the World Cup. Morocco played a draw while South Africa and Tunisia were beaten. We are still hoping that Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal, and DR Congo will come up with a good performance.

Ecuador was just unlucky not to win that game because they were the better side. They had two shots that hit the top poll and had more shots on target. But the Ivory Coast seized the limited chance they had and grabbed those important three points.

[SuperBitMan]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

True, we can say that there is a silver lining to the story but only Omar Artan knows how he is taking the whole situation. His name will be forever tied to this World Cup incident as the Somalian referee who was denied entry to the US. Omar Artan is now famous - something referees don’t usually get, however, I’m not so sure that it is something he wants to be remembered for.

He has gotten fame and that alone will bring him a lot of opportunities that will give him more money, I’m sure they will invite him for a lot of interview and he will get some endorsement to do some advert, this is actually an open door of blessing to him, to US they are doing him something bad but that act has made him more famous and known by millions of people in the world.
I don’t think remembering him for a referee that was denied access into the US for the World Cup that later got recognized by FIFA to referee some important matches and got famous and known all over the world is actually a bad one.
FIFA has promised to give him all the money that he would have gotten as a referee in the World Cup and that is also a nice gesture from FIFA.

[Mayor of ogba]

Ivory Coast is the first African side to win a game in the World Cup. Morocco played a draw while South Africa and Tunisia were beaten. We are still hoping that Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal, and DR Congo will come up with a good performance.

Ecuador was just unlucky not to win that game because they were the better side. They had two shots that hit the top poll and had more shots on target. But the Ivory Coast seized the limited chance they had and grabbed those important three points.

I thought Ivory Coast and Ecuador match would end in a goalless draw after both teams played upto 89 minutes with no separation, but Amad Diallo broke the deadlock in the 90th minute to give Ivory Coast the lead they have been searching for and the goal was enough to earn them the three points. I'm hopeful Egypt, Senegal, and Ghana will come up with a good performance against their opponents but am not sure if DR. Congo and Cape Verde will come up with a good performance against their opponents because their opponents are way stronger than them.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Ivory Coast won their first match of this FIFA World Cup against Ecuador, but we feel that they may have been lucky to win this match. Actually we never imagined that Diallo would be able to score a goal as a substitute because he was not in the Ivory Coast starting XI in a match like the World Cup, in fact this Manchester United player scored a goal in the 90th minute and it was the winning goal. At the moment it appears that another African nation, Ivory Coast, has made a great start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup but my opinion they deserve to be the second best team in Group E, the team's opponent in the upcoming match will be Germany, who defeated Curacao 7-1 in the last match.

Ivory Coast is the first African side to win a game in the World Cup. Morocco played a draw while South Africa and Tunisia were beaten. We are still hoping that Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal, and DR Congo will come up with a good performance.

Ghana is a minus one, so is Cabo Verde and DR Congo. Morocco played a draw, but the question is against which team? Nobody believed that they would be able to defend against the Brazilians, let alone score the first goal of the game. This stage of the competition is tough, and whoever stands strong through it may not get to face tougher opponents as the game goes. Maybe we're just going to get eliminated as usual in the knockout stage. Don't get me wrong, it's not a wish--- infact, I hope to see something different this time.

[Roseline492]

I'm not against Morocco not applying to host African tournaments or them choosing to focus its resources elsewhere my only concern is that they can do that without announcing it, which make it look like if they don't host African tournaments, African Cup of Nations won't hold at all levels. I'm one of the few persons who have been saying other African countries should step up and build standard stadiums that will allow them to host African tournaments, because Morocco is feeling like if they don't host African tournaments no other African country can host African tournaments. Now that Morocco has dropped to host African tournaments, it's time for African countries to prove Morocco wrong. I have resize my image.

Even the poorest country in Africa can host the AFCON but the stadium is only were the problem is because they most have a standard ones that will not only contain many but also very nice and quality, so actually if all the countries start doing what Kenya has started about building stadiums there is no country that would be feeling as if without them the Africa Nations Cup will crash. You are right it wasn't necessary for the announcement but however they might still be thinking that they're being looked up to for more future host so that's why they decided to publicise it so that the whole continent will no that they're not interested.

[Doan9269]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

True, we can say that there is a silver lining to the story but only Omar Artan knows how he is taking the whole situation. His name will be forever tied to this World Cup incident as the Somalian referee who was denied entry to the US. Omar Artan is now famous - something referees don’t usually get, however, I’m not so sure that it is something he wants to be remembered for.

He has gotten fame and that alone will bring him a lot of opportunities that will give him more money, I’m sure they will invite him for a lot of interview and he will get some endorsement to do some advert, this is actually an open door of blessing to him, to US they are doing him something bad but that act has made him more famous and known by millions of people in the world.
I don’t think remembering him for a referee that was denied access into the US for the World Cup that later got recognized by FIFA to referee some important matches and got famous and known all over the world is actually a bad one.
FIFA has promised to give him all the money that he would have gotten as a referee in the World Cup and that is also a nice gesture from FIFA.

Very possible that sometimes we pass through challenges and that will just be the main reason to catapult us to being recognized, I have to be sincere hear that I don't even know this referee before or had about his name, but this incidence has caused a lot of people in likes manner to know him more and gain more recognition, I don't think this has anything to do with losing his value or integrity if FIFA can still handedly identify him out and give him such contracts, all he faced was a strict ban from the US embassy and that is somehow annoying to be sincere, I'm just happy for him because the whole story ended with another appointment he received.

[Wakate]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

Being nominated by FIFA was already a major achievement, and this incident has actually made him popular and has mad more people know more of his journey. And this it is not a small opportunity to be recognized for officiating at the world Cup, this situation has let me understand more that hard work, and dedication can still create new changes even in the most difficult times.

We can see it like the United States help the Somalian referee to become popular and I also heard about the news of the Canadian prime minister asking the referee to come to Canada and officiate one of the matches they are going to host.
If the United States is not ready to give the referee a visa, Canada is ready to offer him a visa which I also see as a good news.

[Lida93]

They used to say that every disappointment is a blessing, now that he was rejected an entry to us but got another offer is a sign that truly there could be opportunity coming unexpectedly, all that is required is our integrity and competency that could lead to our recognition in whatsoever thing we do in life, that he was even nominated by FIFA has got him more recognition than ever before and is one of the talk of the town in football gist today.

As an African, I feel very proud to know that a fellow African is being recognised by FIFA/UEFA and being given a far more higher responsibility despite the unfortunate circumstances that led to the Somali referee being denied entry into the US.
Somehow this looks like a case of crisis management mechanism from FIFA but I think it's quite hilarious and rewarding not only to the Somalian referee but to the whole all of Africa.

[SatoPrincess]

Ghana is a minus one, so is Cabo Verde and DR Congo. Morocco played a draw, but the question is against which team? Nobody believed that they would be able to defend against the Brazilians, let alone score the first goal of the game. This stage of the competition is tough, and whoever stands strong through it may not get to face tougher opponents as the game goes. Maybe we're just going to get eliminated as usual in the knockout stage. Don't get me wrong, it's not a wish--- infact, I hope to see something different this time.

lol why do you have to do Ghana like that? To be honest, if not for how Morocco conducted themselves in the AFCON final, many would have supported them in the World Cup. Don’t forget Morocco made it to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup, they have an even stronger team this year and may just outdo themselves again this year.

[Odusko]

Ghana is a minus one, so is Cabo Verde and DR Congo. Morocco played a draw, but the question is against which team? Nobody believed that they would be able to defend against the Brazilians, let alone score the first goal of the game. This stage of the competition is tough, and whoever stands strong through it may not get to face tougher opponents as the game goes. Maybe we're just going to get eliminated as usual in the knockout stage. Don't get me wrong, it's not a wish--- infact, I hope to see something different this time.

lol why do you have to do Ghana like that? To be honest, if not for how Morocco conducted themselves in the AFCON final, many would have supported them in the World Cup. Don’t forget Morocco made it to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup, they have an even stronger team this year and may just outdo themselves again this year.

To be honest I speak as an African Ghana have nothing to offer in the world cup, infact is going to be tough for them to win their next match in the world cup, although Morocco will definitely do well regardless of how their are perceived by other Africans currently.
Asides from Morocco in the world cup, Africa have a very wesk representative in this round of world cup those team's that qualify for world cup are not the best in the African region.

[snipie]

Ivory Coast has already played and surprised me by managing to beat Ecuador, but they only scored 1 goal. With this victory they are in second place in Group E, they will have to play against Germany (I think it's extremely difficult for them to beat Germany) and they will play against Curaçao, an opponent they can beat.

Ivory Coast should be able to proceed to the next stage after securing a victory against Ecuador.
I would say that I was also surprised by the result because I thought that Ivory Coast would at best collect one point or lose. Ecuador was a solid team whether in the qualifiers or in friendlies.
A defeat now against Germany, or a draw eventually, then a victory against Curaçao which is a must, should make them end second normally.

Unfortunately, in another game involving an African team it was a disaster, Tunisia played against Sweden and lost humiliatingly, conceding 5 goals and managing to score 1. With this defeat I think it's very difficult for Tunisia to advance from this group, their next opponents are Japan and the Netherlands. Tunisia will hardly be able to beat the Netherlands and Japan.

Tunisia is fighting for the top goals received head to head with Curaçao. They will return home with more than 10 goals for sure if not 15. That team has nothing to do with the one that played qualifiers. They lost any sense and they aren't concentrating at all.. Sweden was supposed to be their easiest opponent. Japan and Netherlands are in a superior level than these two. By the way I learned that the Swedish player who knocked them with the first and the last goal was of Tunisian origin.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Ghana is a minus one, so is Cabo Verde and DR Congo. Morocco played a draw, but the question is against which team? Nobody believed that they would be able to defend against the Brazilians, let alone score the first goal of the game. This stage of the competition is tough, and whoever stands strong through it may not get to face tougher opponents as the game goes. Maybe we're just going to get eliminated as usual in the knockout stage. Don't get me wrong, it's not a wish--- infact, I hope to see something different this time.

lol why do you have to do Ghana like that? To be honest, if not for how Morocco conducted themselves in the AFCON final, many would have supported them in the World Cup. Don’t forget Morocco made it to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup, they have an even stronger team this year and may just outdo themselves again this year.

I just can't give credits to a team who I'm sure does not deserve it. We've seen on multiple occasions how incomplete their counter attack and how loosed their defense can be--- is that the type of gameplay they can confront a team England/Croatia with? It's obvious they will fail.Meanwhile, Cabo Verde have been able to hold on tight to the last minute draw against Spain. This looks practically impossible, but it's the reality today. Again, this year's tournament might be a little different. Not better, just different.

[Antotena]

]Even though, the US didn't grant him access to carry out his duties in this world cup, FIFA is still going to pay him in full because he was available but was denied the right.

Of course, when one door is closed another one will be open and it's not like that's the end of the world for us. The US failed in their plan because FIFA gave him one of the best opportunity to officiate in the upcoming Super Cup

I don't like the fact that they want to pay him and they still deny him entry to the US. With all the news that has been flying around about investigation that will be done regarding his rejection to the US, there is nothing they have said he has done wrong, I'm sure if there is something bad he has done, he wouldn't even get back to his country, they will keep him to the club and wouldn't let him come back until full investigation is done guilty or not.

There are other opportunities but let be honest, there is nothing comes close to officiating world cup. The tournament is all worldwide, people get to see you and that's alot of opportunities and more upgrades to his career, but with this and no clear statement about his offense, there will be sentiment around his name in anything he want to do about football. They should give him entry while the tournament is still early, even players get in when they like especially the ones on injury treatment.

[Nightwalker(NW)]

This is the news coming up this morning that FIFA would pay Omar Arthan his entitlement as a referee in the world cup tournament.  Although it is not his fault though that he was denied entry into the US but we expected that FIFA could have intervened in this matter but but it was captured in the news that he was interviewed for straight 11 hours and was still denied entry and from what I read online, the interview has to do with something related to a terrorist group affiliations which he said he doesn't have idea what they are talking about and I believe that was the reason behind his entry denial hence the possibility of FIFA not being able to interfer but to resolve in paying him his benefits as a referee for the tournament. We will keep our hands crossed and watch how it goes after the world cup tournament and see if FIFA would honour their promises as they have said in paying him his benefits.

Source

Fifa is well aware that it's also part of their fault why most of the wrong things that are happening in this world cup is happening. I have never heard in any tournament were fans or players of some certain teams are all denied visa or barred from entering the host nation due to one reason or the other, I have also not heard that an official of the Fifa was prevented from entering a country to perform his duties for same Fifa, I haven't heard of such until this world cup. Some has asked if this is a world cup or war cup because I don't think people has experienced this kind of humiliation back in the days before for a major tournament.