CAF president Patrice Motsepe has made a bold 2026 FIFA World Cup claim following Morocco's record-breaking display at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
With the Atlas Lions having recently become the first African team ever to reach the World Cup semi-finals, CAF leader Motsepe has insisted that next edition of the tournament could see another side from the continent reach the final.
Prior to Morocco's milestone in the Middle East, African nations did not progress past the group stage in Russia four years ago, Nigeria and Algeria were eliminated in the last 16 round in 2014, while Ghana were the last team from the region to reach the quarter-finals back in 2010 in South Africa.
The Atlas Lions' fourth-place finish in Qatar has seemingly triggered some optimism from Motsepe, who is confident a CAF team will get to the final in north America in four years' time.
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"I'm confident that in the next World Cup, an African nation will go further," the 60-year-old said at a press conference, according to BBC Sport Africa.
"The historic achievements of Morocco have made all of us in Africa uniquely proud. The future of African football is incredibly bright.
"If you look at the talent on the continent, there's 10-15 nations in Africa now that can compete at the highest level in the world and win."
The former Mamelodi Sundowns chairman also said that he was inspired by the recent success of Croatia, who made their second consecutive podium finish at the World Cup after claiming bronze in the Middle East to go with their 2018 runners-up medal.
"Given a nation of 3.5 million people can compete against Brazil, I'll never accept that an African nation cannot compete at the highest level," the South African billionaire added.
"These are proud moments for football in Africa, and the main objective is an African nation to win the World Cup – we have to believe, and encourage every young boy and girl, because it's not just the men we want to win the World Cup, but also the women.
"We are absolutely confident that the performance at the World Cup will serve as a significant stimulus and accelerator for the very good work taking place in increasing the quality and global competitiveness of African football."
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