Africa’s road to the expanded 2026 World Cup looks anything but even. Some sides landed forgiving paths, others drew tournament giants. Here’s how each team’s group really stacks up.
The 2026 World Cup draw handed African teams everything from genuine opportunity to near-mission-impossible. With 48 nations and three hosts, more sides than ever will reach the knockouts, but only if they can handle groups that range from forgiving to brutal.
From a betting perspective, the picture will continue to change as injuries, form and warm-up games alter expectations. You can track those changes through soccer betway, where Betway Ghana’s football section provides updated World Cup moneyline odds, outright markets, group-winner projections and player props. The platform lets you compare how teams such as Morocco, Egypt and Senegal are priced, follow live in-play lines and review match statistics on both mobile and desktop. It’s a licensed and secure environment designed for football fans who want reliable, real-time numbers rather than guesswork during the World Cup.
How to read a “good” World Cup group
Assessing a World Cup draw usually comes down to three things: how many genuine title contenders are in the group, how the styles align and what the knockout path looks like.
On the contender side, the usual names sit at the top of the outright markets: Spain, England, France, Brazil and Argentina. If an African side is paired with two of those, the room for error is tiny. Share the group with only one of them and two beatable opponents, and the door to second place is at least open.
Then comes style. A team like Senegal are happy to defend compactly and break quickly, so they can live with stronger reputations. Egypt, by contrast, want more control and slower games. Finally, there is the bracket. In a 48-team format, finishing second in a balanced group can be better than winning a chaotic one if it keeps you away from Spain or France until later.
Because there are 12 groups of four and a 32-team knockout round, the top two in each group go through along with the eight best third-placed sides. In practice, that means four points, or even three with a strong goal difference, can still be enough to extend your World Cup.
Morocco and Egypt look best placed
Morocco go to North America with the clearest upside. Fresh from their 2022 semi-final and another calm qualifying run, they drop into Group C with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. Brazil still carry contender status, but Scotland and Haiti are opponents Morocco will expect to handle more often than not. With leadership from Romain Saïss, the box-to-box drive of Sofyan Amrabat and wide threats like Abde Ezzalzouli and Bilal El Khannouss, anything less than a top-two finish would feel like a missed chance.
Egypt’s Group G may be even kinder. They share it with Belgium, Iran and New Zealand. Belgium remain dangerous but no longer resemble the peak “golden generation” that sat on top of the rankings, while Iran and New Zealand both sit well below Africa’s elite in most rating models. If Mohamed Salah arrives fit, Egypt finally have a World Cup section where reaching the knockouts feels like a baseline expectation. In early Golden Boot markets, the Liverpool forward still appears around +1200, a sign that he can tilt a group almost on his own.
Senegal’s demanding but realistic task
Senegal’s draw is tougher but still gives them a route. They are in Group I with France, Norway and a play-off winner to be decided. France will be strong favorites to top the group. Norway bring Erling Haaland, who sits around +1400 in leading-scorer markets on soccer betway, and a long-awaited generation making their first World Cup since 1998.
Pape Thiaw’s side will not be intimidated. Senegal have gone toe-to-toe with elite nations across several tournaments and have the tools to turn games into physical, high-tempo battles. With Sadio Mané, Nicolas Jackson and Pape Matar Sarr driving transitions, four or five points is a realistic aim. Beat the play-off team, avoid defeat in one of the other two matches and they are firmly in the conversation for second place and a last-32 tie that does not immediately throw them at Spain or Argentina.
The steepest climb: Cape Verde’s debut
At the other end of the spectrum sit teams who have reason to feel the draw has stacked the deck. Cape Verde’s first World Cup appearance comes in Group H with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Spain are near the front of every outright list and looked like the most complete side at Euro 2024 on their way to victory. Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay qualified strongly from South America and still carry the competitive edge that makes them awkward in tournament football. Saudi Arabia have already shown, by beating Argentina in 2022, that they can ambush giants.
For Cape Verde, whose squad is spread across smaller European and domestic leagues, simply reaching the final round of group games with qualification still possible would be a serious achievement. The more realistic target may be to stay organized, nick a goal or two and use the exposure to build toward future tournaments.
What the draw really tells you
Strip away the noise and a clear pattern emerges. Morocco and Egypt have the most obviously favorable starting positions, with one heavyweight and two opponents they can realistically target. Senegal sit just behind with a demanding but manageable section where their physical edge and tournament experience should matter.
Between now and June, every injury, friendly result and tactical tweak will be reflected in the numbers you see on platforms like soccer betway. Those prices will not decide any match, but they do give you a running verdict on which African teams genuinely benefited from the draw and which ones will need something close to perfect just to stay in the bracket.