The Best African National Football Teams In The World

The Best African National Football Teams In The World
Although no African team has won the FIFA World Cup, there are many extremely talented and popular teams. They captivated the imagination of football fans around the world with their skill, footwork and other attributes. It would be interesting to take a closer look at the top 20 African football teams in terms of FIFA’s world ranking.

Nigeria

Nigeria is ranked 9th on the African list, which is a little surprising because it is a very talented team. Forty-eighth in the world with 618 points, they had a lot of surprises at the World Cup, especially in 1994 when they finished at the top of their group ahead of Bulgaria, Argentina and Greece. In 1998, at the World Cup, they beat Spain in the opening match. Nigeria won the African Cup of Nations three times in 1980, 1994 and more recently in 2013.

After the huge success of Nigeria in 1994, they reached their peak in the FIFA rankings, until the very respectable fourth place. They have fantastic names like Wilfred Ndidi and Victor Moses.

Senegal

Senegal is another small country in West Africa and ranks 24th among West African countries. 838 points according to the FIFA rankings. When the team was formed in the 1960s and did not stop being a tough competitor in the African Cup of Nations, it was not until the mid-2000s that the team started is imposed on the international scene, when France, reigning world champion, is defeated. France in 2002 in the group stage of the World Cup.

There are big stars and the names of Sadio Mane and Kelta Balde always come to mind. In 2002, the team achieved its best performance and moved closer to the African Cup of Nations, but finished second after a long match against Cameroon.

Tunisia

Tunisia is a small country with a very rich football culture and a team to watch for the World Cup 2022. In 21st place in the FIFA rankings, they are currently forming the African football team. better ranked. Tunisia has many participations in the Africa Cup of Nations. In 2004, they won the African Cup of Nations, a tournament they also organized.

Historically, they have always been talented and with 910 points, they are truly a force to be reckoned with. Their star player is Wahbi Khazri, around whom the team turns. Since 2014, after many years of disappointment, Tunisia seems stronger than ever and considered to progress. Tunisia played in the 2018 World Cup but failed to pass the group stage.

Egypt

Although she is not one of the best nations in the football league, there is reason to believe that Egypt could create some major surprises in her day. The team has many talented players, including Mohamed Saleh, one of Liverpool’s most prominent players. Egypt qualified for the 2018 World Cup, marking their first appearance after 28 years, and their third World Cup appearance in general.

Egypt has a good record in the African Cup of Nations, with 23 participations and seven victories in total, the last in 2010, where it beat Ghana with a score of 1: 0. They have 649 points and rank in the 45th rank.

Morocco

Morocco is often considered a black horse in the World Cup, since it was the first African team to pass the first round of the group stage of the World Cup in 1986. Unfortunately, Morocco was eliminated by the World Cup. West Germany and has never come out of the group stage of a World Cup since the start of the competition.

For now, they have 686 points and rank fourth on the list of African nations, while ranking 41st in the world. There are a lot of talented players, but it’s Achraf Hakimi, who plays for Real Madrid, who is watching. Finalist of the African Cup of Nations in 2004, she qualified for the 2018 World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

Burkina Faso

Small country with a lot of talent in football, Burkina Faso has a great diversity of talents. 604 points and ranks 8th in Africa, while being 52 in the list of teams around the world. Most Burkinabe players play abroad and Captain Moumouni Dagano is highly respected and competent.

Regarding the African Cup of Nations, the team is not important except 2013, where she placed second after losing 1-0 against Nigeria. Burkina Faso also had an impressive performance at the 1998 African Cup of Nations, where it was host, where it finished fourth.

Algeria

Algeria with 474 points is the 9th African team and ranks 66th in the world. They are considered powerful rivals of Egypt, their main rival, but also of Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. Algeria has always performed well on the African circuit, having won a victory in 1990 after persevering against strong teams in the group stage.

In 2010, Algeria qualified for the third time in their FIFA World Cup history after defeating Egypt in the qualifying blocks, a victory that led to a long rivalry between the two teams, leading several incidents of violence among supporters. A few months later, Egypt beat Algeria 4: 0, a match that strengthened the rivalry between the two countries.

Côte d’Ivoire

For a small country, Ivory Coast is a country that loves football. Although ranked 68th in the world, they are now considered a dreaded team in Africa. They won the African Cup of Nations twice, the first in 1992 and the second in 2015, when they beat Ghana after a 120-minute suspense that ended in a shot on goal. Côte d’Ivoire also managed to qualify three times for the FIFA World Cup, although it never managed to break through the group stage.

Over the years, they have produced fascinating players who play in respectable European teams, such as Yaya Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Wilfried Bony, Seydou Doumbia and the legendary Didier Drogba, who has played since 2002 and currently plays in the team. American Phoenix Rising. He has 99 caps and 63 goals to his name.

South Africa

South Africa is known for its cricket achievements, but in recent times it has also been able to showcase its talents in football. After having been deprived of competition for a long time because of apartheid, South Africa came back strong to win the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations. In 2010, South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup, with his player Siphiwe Tshabalala who was the first to score a goal in the opening match of the event.

In 1996, the same year they won the African Cup of Nations, they reached 14th place. In 1998, they finished in second place and have never managed to reach the final of the African Cup of Nations since. Today, they rank 74th with 428 points.

Zambia

Zambia is another lukewarm team on the African football circuit with 420 points. They are 76th in the world rankings. They may never have managed to qualify for the World Cup, but in 2012, they won the 2012 African Cup of Nations in a match against the strong Ivorian team, much to the surprise of all. because they were considered outsiders throughout the tournament.

It was their third appearance at the African Nations Cup of Nations, the only one they have ever won so far. Since then, Zambia has never gone beyond the first round of an African Cup of Nations in which it has participated. Their biggest win in history was an 11-2 win over Swaziland in 1978.

Ghana

With 624 points Ghana is ranked 47th in the international ranking. Second in the Africa Cup of Nations, they were champions in 1963 and 1965. Despite his success on the African scene, the team failed nine times to try to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, before to qualify for the group stage in 2006, where she achieved an impressive performance finishing second, before being eliminated in the round of 16.

Although they have failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they have some big names like Abdul Nafiu Idrissu and Abedi Pelé. They won the African Cup of Nations four times and placed second. five times, which is quite an achievement.

Uganda

Uganda with 403 points is 82nd in the FIFA World Ranking. They also have famous players like Denis Onyango and Godfrey Walusimbi. They reached their peak in 1978 when they finished second in the African Cup of Nations, and since then they have been lukewarm in their performances. They also have the legendary Ibrahim Sekagaya as a member of a historical point of view.

Uganda’s biggest win was a 13-1 win against Kenya, while its biggest loss was a 0-6 draw against Egypt in 1995. In total, they played 6 games in the African Cup. Nations, most of them were eliminated in the group stage.