BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK.

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 races towards its grand finale across the North American hosts — the United States, Canada and Mexico — the live FIFA World Ranking is reflecting a subtle but significant shift in the balance of power in African football.

The biggest beneficiary of the tournament has been Egypt, whose remarkable World Cup campaign has propelled the Pharaohs above Nigeria in the continental hierarchy.

Before the tournament kicked off in June, Nigeria were Africa’s third-highest-ranked nation and 26th in the world, trailing only Morocco and Senegal on the continent. But as of July 10, Egypt’s impressive journey to the Round of 16 has seen the Pharaohs climb to 24th in the world and third in Africa, pushing Nigeria down to fourth place on the continent, despite the Super Eagles retaining their 26th global ranking.

Morocco remain Africa’s undisputed standard-bearers. The Atlas Lions, who became the first African nation to reach a FIFA World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022, entered the 2026 tournament as Africa’s highest-ranked side and eighth in the world.

Another impressive World Cup campaign has further enhanced their standing. Having reached the quarter-finals for a second consecutive edition, the Moroccans have climbed two places to sixth in the world, underlining their growing reputation as one of football’s most consistent and respected national teams.

Senegal continue to fly Africa’s flag among the game’s elite, holding firm as the continent’s second-highest-ranked nation and 14th in the world.

The most notable movement, however, has come from Egypt. Prior to the tournament, the Pharaohs were ranked 29th globally and fifth in Africa, behind Nigeria and Algeria. Their historic run to the Round of 16 — the best World Cup performance in Egyptian football history — has earned them valuable ranking points and a significant rise in the global standings.

Egypt captured the imagination of football fans across Africa with a spirited campaign that featured a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Australia before a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to defending champions Argentina. The Pharaohs had led the holders 2-0 with just minutes remaining before suffering a cruel comeback that denied them a place in the quarter-finals.

Nevertheless, their performances won admiration throughout the continent and beyond, while also delivering a substantial reward in the FIFA rankings.

For Nigeria, the revised standings serve as a sobering reminder of what might have been.

The Super Eagles entered the World Cup year as one of Africa’s strongest-ranked teams despite failing to qualify for the tournament. Their 26th-place global ranking before the competition made them one of the highest-ranked nations absent from football’s biggest event, highlighting the paradox of a football powerhouse blessed with talent but missing from the global stage.

While Nigeria watched from afar, Egypt seized the opportunity to strengthen their credentials, joining Morocco and Senegal among Africa’s standout performers at the tournament. Algeria remain close behind, ensuring that the battle for supremacy among the continent’s traditional heavyweights remains fiercely contested.

The achievements of Morocco and Egypt point to a broader evolution in African football. The continent is no longer content with merely making up the numbers at the World Cup. African teams are increasingly demonstrating the quality, tactical discipline and self-belief required to challenge football’s established powers from Europe and South America.

Morocco’s sustained excellence and Egypt’s breakthrough campaign are proof that success on the world stage is now translating into tangible gains in the FIFA rankings.

For Nigeria, the lesson is unmistakable. Rankings alone cannot define a nation’s football strength. While the Super Eagles continue to boast one of Africa’s richest talent pools and proudest football traditions, future success will ultimately be measured by qualification for major tournaments and meaningful achievements once there.

As Africa celebrates Morocco’s consistency and Egypt’s remarkable rise, Nigerian football faces the challenge of reclaiming its place not only in the FIFA rankings but also on the World Cup stage where many believe the Super Eagles belong.

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• Summary
• VAR interventions in 2026 quickly exceeded totals from the 64-game 2018 and 2022 tournaments
• Collina and IFAB added four new areas where VAR can intervene
• Critics allege over-reach and inconsistency of application

MIAMI, July 10 (Reuters) – If FIFA President Gianni Infantino imagined his embrace of technology might finally put an end to disputes over refereeing decisions, the World Cup would have disabused him of the notion.

The use of technology has been at the heart of every major controversy at the ​tournament, including the saga around the red card for Folarin Balogun that drew in U.S. President Donald Trump.

Criticism of technology has ranged from charges of overreach and inconsistency of application, to full-blown conspiracy theories ‌that VAR was being used to determine the outcome of matches in favour of certain teams or players.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan gave voice to all three on Tuesday after his team had a goal scratched off by VAR because of a foul at the other end of the pitch, and a penalty shout that went unchecked, before losing 3-2 to Argentina in the last 16.

“What’s happening isn’t fair,” he said.

FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina said in an interview on Wednesday that he was happy with how things were going and in particular defended the ​decision to disallow the Egypt goal for a foul in the lead-up.

“There is no defined limit regarding either the distance from goal or the amount of time between the incident and the goal,” he wrote.

“We ​believe that a foul is a foul. Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”

The ⁠Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was initially developed as a remedy for “clear and obvious” refereeing mistakes such as Diego Maradona’s famous ‘Hand of God’ handball goal against England in the 1986 tournament.

The introduction of VAR at the World Cup was resisted by Sepp ​Blatter when he was FIFA president but it was quickly adopted by Infantino when he took over the job in 2016.

There were 20 VAR interventions in 64 matches at the 2018 World Cup and fewer than 30 in the same ​number of games in Qatar in 2022, but those numbers were quickly dwarfed in the early stages of the 2026 tournament, which will have 104 matches.

MORE INTERVENTIONS

This was deliberate, with the expanded role of the now four match officials in the television booth a key plank in Collina’s strategy for the World Cup.

In collaboration with the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the custodians of the rules of the game, Collina introduced four more areas where VAR could intervene.

Network scientist Brennan Klein said a future where a panopticon of cameras and AI adjudicated the ​match in real time, while possible, was unlikely simply because fans had already reached their limit.

“This kind of dystopian future of over-refereeing everything kind of fails to address what it’s originally designed to intervene on,” Klein, who with his team ​at Northeastern University has been analysing data throughout the tournament, told Reuters.

“My sense is that fans in the stadium, by and large, just hate this. They’ve sort of been informed that this is the right way to do things, but not really had ‌a say in ⁠it.

“I think fans seem to be voting with their boos.”

“ABUSE OF TECHNOLOGY”

Had the round-of-32 match between Croatia and Portugal taken place at the 2014 World Cup, it would almost certainly have ended up 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

Josko Gvardiol found the net in the 13th minute of stoppage time to equalise for Croatia, but VAR said the ball had touched Igor Matanovic on the way through to the defender, rendering his teammate offside.

The touch was not clear to the human eye, and the ball did not noticeably deviate from its course, but a sensor embedded in the ball registered contact, possibly from Matanovic’s hair.

“(The sensor) is capable of determining any slight contact … allowing officials an unprecedented level of data to make ​fast, accurate decisions,” FIFA said in a social media ​post.

Croatia great Luka Modric, whose 24-year World Cup career ⁠came to an end with the 2-1 defeat, was unimpressed.

“For some things it’s useful, but it’s either being used incorrectly or selectively, depending on the size of the team or whatever else,” he said.

“If it’s a 200% mistake, then you intervene. If it’s not, if it’s in a grey area, then there’s no reason to get involved.”

The Croatian football federation (HNS), ​who are in favour of the use of VAR, have written to FIFA asking for an explanation of the call, calling it “an abuse of technology”.

Klein said red cards ​had more than tripled in comparison ⁠with the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, with 13 issued to players up until the end of the round of 16, albeit in 94 games compared to 64 for the two previous World Cups.

At least two of them would not have been shown before VAR, with U.S striker Balogun and England defender Jarell Quansah sent off for fouls missed in real time by the referee.

Trump cited the “unfairness” of the red card when he revealed that he had contacted Infantino in a bid to have Balogun’s one-match ⁠ban overturned, even ​if the FIFA chief later said he had nothing to do with it ultimately happening.

At least Quansah’s red card and a VAR penalty ​awarded against his captain Harry Kane in their round-of-16 contest did not result in England going out of the World Cup.

That did little to calm the mood of England manager Thomas Tuchel after the dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.

“VAR overturns (but) is this an obvious error for the penalty? For sure not,” said the furious German.

“They overturned a situation where (the referee) doesn’t even give a foul. Referees just not good enough, fourth officials just not good enough.”

-Reuters

 

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Waving flags, singing patriotic songs and carrying banners proclaiming “Egypt’s men made us proud”, thousands of supporters welcomed Egypt’s national football team home ​on Friday after the Pharaohs produced the finest World Cup campaign in ‌the country’s history.

Crowds gathered outside Alamein International Airport on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast to greet the players and coaching staff after their return from North America, where Egypt won at the World ​Cup for the first time in four attempts and reached the last ​16. Fans also held pictures of captain Mohamed Salah bearing the ⁠words “Thank you”.

The celebrations continued as the squad boarded an open-top bus and paraded ​through New Alamein, waving to cheering supporters lining the streets. President Abdel Fattah ​al-Sisi is due to receive the team and its technical and administrative staff on Saturday.

Egypt’s Mohamed Salah waves as Egypt’s national team is welcomed by fans at El Alamein International Airport upon its return from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ahead of an official reception by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in El Dabaa, Egypt. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdel Ghany

Among the crowds were supporters carrying large posters of coach Hossam Hassan draped in a Palestinian flag, ​reflecting appreciation for his support of the Palestinian cause during the tournament. Egypt’s all-time ​leading scorer carried a Palestinian flag on the pitch on several occasions and voiced support for ‌Palestinian rights during press conferences.

The homecoming came despite a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat by Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the last 16. Egypt led 2-0 until the closing stages before conceding three goals in the final 11 minutes, but still returned home with pride ​after its best-ever World ​Cup run, having ⁠beaten New Zealand in the group stage and Australia on penalties in the round of 32.

Before the team’s return, the ​Egyptian Football Association renewed the contracts of Hossam Hassan and his ​twin brother ⁠Ibrahim Hassan. The federation did not disclose the length of the deal, though local media reported it would run until 2030. Hassan, 59, has revitalised the national side ⁠since ​taking charge in 2024, leading Egypt to the ​2025 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, ending an eight-year World Cup absence and compiling a record of ​20 wins, nine draws and six defeats

-Reuters

 

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