For all Cape Verde’s heroics, Africa’s World Cup could and perhaps should have been better | Jonathan Wilson

Egypt and Morocco are in the last 16 after shootouts, but the continent’s pyramid appears to be getting broader rather than much higherFor Africa, this World Cup feels like one of those classic memes from the early days of social media. Is it a gold and white dress or a black and blue dress? Is it a duck or a rabbit? Has this been a good World Cup for Africa or one that underlines the problems of football on the continent? It probably depends where you’re standing.For years, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) had been arguing that five places were not enough for its 54 members: 9% of African sides were represented at a World Cup, while 50% of South America’s members were. The response to that was South American countries had won the World Cup 10 times, whereas Africa had not had a semi-finalist until Morocco reached the last four in Qatar in 2022. Continue reading...