African teams have been leaving their mark on the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, as 32 countries seek to win the biggest prize in women's football.
For the first time in the history of the tournament, four teams from the continent were competing at the tournament — and three of them progressed to the knockout phase.
The mix of teams involves World Cup regulars like Nigeria, as well as debutants like Morocco.
The Sporting News takes a look at how African sides are faring, which have had the best performances at past Women's World Cup's, and whether any teams are well-positioned to break records in 2023.
MORE: Updated Women's World Cup Round of 16 bracket
African teams at FIFA Women's World Cup 2023
The four African sides that qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup are Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Zambia.
Nigeria: Out in Round of 16
Nigeria have qualified for every World Cup, and even though they had a difficult group with Australia, Ireland, and Olympic champions Canada, the Super Falcons managed to reach the Round of 16.
They have yet to lose in the tournament with a surprise victory over Australia, coupled with two 0-0 draws against Ireland and Canada. Against England in the knockout phase, they were arguably the better side over 120 minutes, but they could not capitalise on playing the whole of extra time with an extra player following Lauren James' red card.
In the end, Nigeria were beaten on penalties 4-2, as England progressed to the quarterfinals.
South Africa: Out in Round of 16
South Africa qualified for their second tournament in a row, and their first ever win at the Women's World Cup secured their place in the knockouts. A thrilling 3-2 victory over Italy sent them into the last 16.
They played well in the groups, only losing to Sweden on a 90th-minute goal, and tying Argentina 2-2 in a match in which the South Africans held a 2-0 lead.
They faced the Netherlands in the Round of 16, but that match was a step too far — Jill Roord and Lineth Beerensteyn gave the Dutch a 2-0 win.
Morocco: Out in Round of 16
Morocco qualified for the tournament for the first time ever, becoming the first side from the Arab world to reach the women's tournament. The team also featured the first player to wear a hijab during a World Cup match.
They got their first win at the World Cup in their second match — 1-0 vs South Korea — and they advanced to the Round of 16 with a win against Colombia on the final day of group action on August 3. However, their match against France in the Round of 16 was a step too far, ending in a 4-0 defeat to Les Bleues.
Zambia: Out in group stage
Zambia became the first African side from a landlocked country to qualify for either a men's or women's FIFA World Cup.
Despite earning their first World Cup victory (3-1 against Costa Rica), they were eliminated in the group stage after finishing third in Group C behind Japan and Spain. Heavy 5-0 losses to both Japan and Spain proved costly.
| Team | How did they qualify? |
All-time World Cup appearances |
Odds to win (BetMGM) |
Odds to win (Dafabet) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2022 Women's AFCON Quarterfinal winners |
9 | +6600 | 101.00 |
| South Africa | 2022 Women's AFCON Quarterfinal winners |
2 | +50000 | 1501.00 |
| Zambia | 2022 Women's AFCON Quarterfinal winners |
1 | — | — |
| Morocco | 2022 Women's AFCON Quarterfinal winners |
1 | +50000 | 1501.00 |
Odds correct as of July 31, 2023
Has an African nation ever won Women's World Cup?
In the previous eight editions of the tournament, no African side has ever won the Women's World Cup.
Additionally, even when African sides have made the knockout rounds of the tournament, none have been able to win a knockout game at the Women's World Cup.
Only four countries have won the Women's World Cup:
- USA (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019)
- Germany (2003, 2007)
- Norway (1995)
- Japan (2011)
This means that teams from the Asian, Oceania, African and South American confederations have never won the tournament.
MORE: Teams out of Women's World Cup 2023
Best Women's World Cup finish by an African nation
The best-ever Women's World Cup performance by an African side was seen by Nigeria at the 1999 World Cup, where they reached the quarterfinals.
Despite losing 7-1 to hosts and eventual tournament winners USA in the group stages, they won their other two matches against Denmark and North Korea (both 3-0) to advance to the quarterfinals.
They came up against heavyweights Brazil and were involved in a highly exciting encounter that saw Nigeria come back from 3-0 down to take the game to extra-time.
It would ultimately end in heartbreak, though, as Brazil scored a golden goal through Sissi that saw them advance to the semifinals.
African teams at Women's World Cup
African teams have been present at every tournament, with the number of African sides at a given tournament increasing as the competition has expanded.
From just one side in the first two editions (1991 and 1995), this increased to two African teams from 1999, to three teams in 2015 and finally to four teams seen in 2023 thanks to the expansion to a 32-team format.
Overall, eight different African countries have qualified for the tournament over the years.
| Team | Appearances | Editions | Best finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 2 | 2015, 2019 | Round of 16 (2015, 2019) |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1 | 2011 | Group Stage |
| Ghana | 3 | 1999, 2003, 2007 | Group Stage |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | 2015 | Group Stage |
| Morocco | 1 | 2023 | Round of 16 (2023) |
| Nigeria | 9 | 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 |
Quarterfinals (1999) |
| South Africa | 2 | 2019, 2023 | Round of 16 (2023) |
| Zambia | 1 | 2023 | Group Stage |
How many World Cup spots for Africa in 2023?
As previously mentioned, this World Cup has the highest amount of African nations participating in tournament history.
The four nations that qualified earned the right to do so through winning their quarterfinal matches at the continental championship, the Women's African Cup of Nations.
There was even a chance that an unprecedented six African sides would have participated in the tournament, with both Cameroon and Senegal qualifying for the Intercontinental playoffs that took place in New Zealand earlier this year.
However, neither of those sides was able to qualify as they lost to Portugal and Haiti, respectively.
The distribution of teams in the World Cup by confederation looks like this:
- AFC (Asia): Australia, China, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea
- CONCACAF (North and Central America): USA, Canada, Haiti, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama
- UEFA (Europe): England, Denmark, Italy, France, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden
- CAF (Africa): Nigeria, Morocco, Zambia, South Africa
- CONMEBOL (South America): Brazil, Argentina, Colombia
- OFC (Oceania): New Zealand