BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK

As Africa’s remaining FIFA World Cup hopes rest on the shoulders of Cape Verde, Ghana and Egypt, football fans across social media have been circulating a striking graphic highlighting what many have described as the continent’s “86th-minute curse.”

The viral collage brings together three painful Round of 32 exits suffered by African teams, all linked by goals scored in the 86th minute.

The image shows Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland scoring in the 86th minute to seal a 2-1 victory over Côte d’Ivoire, England captain Harry Kane finding the net in the same minute to break DR Congo hearts in a 2-1 defeat, and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku striking in the 86th minute to secure a dramatic 3-2 win over Senegal.

For many supporters, the coincidence is remarkable.

Within the space of just three knockout matches, three African nations saw their World Cup dreams shattered by goals arriving at exactly the same stage of the contest.

The sequence began when Senegal, who had become the first African side to score five goals in a World Cup match during the group stage, appeared to have fought back bravely against Belgium before Lukaku’s late intervention ended their campaign.

DR Congo suffered a similar fate a day later. Having recovered from Harry Kane’s opener through Yoane Wissa, the Congolese looked destined to force extra time before Kane struck again in the 86th minute to send England through.

Then came Côte d’Ivoire’s heartbreak. The Elephants were minutes away from taking Norway into extra time when Haaland produced another decisive moment, scoring four minutes from regulation time to eliminate the West Africans.

The graphic has quickly gained traction online, with fans pointing to the unusual repetition of the 86th minute as a symbol of Africa’s narrow misses in the knockout rounds.

Whether coincidence or cruel fate, the pattern has added another layer of intrigue ahead of Friday’s decisive fixtures involving the continent’s last three survivors.

Cape Verde face defending champions Argentina in Miami, Ghana take on Colombia, while Egypt meet Australia in the final Round of 32 matches involving African teams.

After the exits of Senegal, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa, Africa’s hopes of maintaining a strong presence at the tournament now depend entirely on the trio.

Supporters across the continent will be hoping that, unlike their fallen counterparts, Cape Verde, Ghana and Egypt can avoid any late heartbreak and write a different ending to Africa’s World Cup story.

For now, however, the circulating image serves as a reminder of just how fine the margins have been, with three African nations seeing their dreams extinguished by goals scored in the very same minute.

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    Summary

• World Cup teams are treating penalties as a specialist discipline
• Coaches are drilling routines, psychology before knockout games
• Goalkeepers are using data and deception to gain an edge

Penalty shootouts have always been football’s cruellest mind game — a nerve-shredding walk into noise, doubt and national dread. What has changed over recent years is not the pressure, but the preparation — and at this World Cup, players, coaches and goalkeepers are increasingly treating penalties less as a ​lottery than as a specialist discipline with enormous rewards.

Germany and the Netherlands have already learned that the hard way, exiting in the round of 32 after shootout defeats by Paraguay and Morocco. ‌Belgium’s Youri Tielemans provided the counterpoint, converting a stoppage-time penalty in extra time to complete a stunning comeback victory over Senegal.

For Geir Jordet, professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and author of “Pressure”, a book on penalty psychology, the old line that penalties are a lottery should be locked in a cupboard with old leather balls.

In a successful World Cup campaign, facing a penalty shootout is almost inevitable, Jordet told Reuters. “To not spend time on that is very strange,” he said.

“Ultimately there will be a young player whose legacy will be defined ​by the failure in a penalty shootout, which is a massive negative emotional trauma that we’re inflicting on this player as a coaching staff, as an FA, and even as a football industry.”

Penalty shootouts are ​unforgiving and ruthless. In “Pressure”, Jordet gathered video of all 718 shots from every men’s penalty shootout at the World Cup, European Championship and Champions League from the introduction of ⁠shootouts in 1970 through 2023.

ENGLISH TRAUMA

His research found that 53% of players who missed behaved in a similar way afterwards: making themselves look smaller, falling to the ground, hiding their faces in their hands, looking down or avoiding their ​teammates as they walked back.

England know the trauma well.

“The England story is fascinating,” Jordet said. “They lost six out of seven penalty shootouts in the ’90s and early 2000s. And this was common knowledge in England that we go far in the tournament, ​we have fantastic talent, and then we lose on penalties.

“So then they took hold of this and they orchestrated something new. They created these big penalty projects… they’re very pioneering and innovative, comprehensive in their approach.”

Under Thomas Tuchel, England are trying to keep the laboratory running.

He believes penalties come down to execution and repetitive action. “The FA has a programme in place. We follow this programme in detail, and it’s just an important and very specific part of football that comes into play in knockout matches,” he said.

Spain coach Luis de la ​Fuente was equally blunt.

“Kicking a penalty is not something that happens at random,” he said. “Just as we have specialists in free kicks, in corner kicks, we have specialists in penalties. Not everybody can shoot a penalty.

“We have to focus ​on the psychological aspect as well. For some of them, it’s much harder, and others are just eager to shoot penalties.”

Jordet’s research has long focused on those tiny betrayals of stress: the hurried walk from the halfway line, the face, the whistle treated ‌like a starting ⁠gun.

STARTING GUN

“Facial expressions will indicate anxiety,” Jordet said. “But the question is always, how do you deal with these emotions?”

Some players, he said, want the ordeal over too quickly. “The pivotal moment for that is when the referee blows his whistle,” he said. “Some players look at this as like a starting gun. The ones who react to the whistle very quickly, that to me is not a particularly good sign because it could indicate that their focus is basically on their emotions and not on the task at hand.”

Yet there are exceptions. Kylian Mbappe, Jordet said, is “one of the quickest penalty takers in the world” but remains among the best because speed is part of his entire footballing nature.

Tielemans, who used a short ​run-up against Senegal, said preparation had mattered as much as ​nerve.

“We’ve been practising the last few days,” the ⁠player said. “In that moment you just try to be confident and trust your abilities.”

Then there are the goalkeepers, no longer the poor souls simply guessing which way to dive. Morocco’s Yassine Bounou, known as Bono, has turned the duel into a confidence trick in gloves.

“Goalkeepers have been through a revolution,” Jordet said. “Goalkeepers are more prepared. So far in this World ​Cup, we’re seeing how goalkeepers have kind of gained a little bit of an edge by just being smarter than the penalty takers and using analytics and data ​better than what we have seen ⁠in the past.”

Jordet said Bono’s speciality is tricking the taker who waits for the goalkeeper to move.

“He has developed this into an art,” Jordet said. “He has shown that against some of the top penalty takers in the world using this technique.”

In the shootout that decided the Morocco v Netherlands last-32 game, two Dutch players missed the target, and another one had his attempt saved by Bono.

“Bono uses this double fake movement where he moves on the goal line at exactly the right moment to ⁠deceive (the taker) into ​believing that he’s going to go to the left, but in fact he’s going to the right,” Jordet said.

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti has been ​treating penalties with utmost seriousness, splitting his squad into two teams for full shootout rehearsals, with players waiting on the halfway line, walking to the spot and going through the ritual while he studies body language and tendencies.

Despite all the practice and analysis, though, somewhere in this tournament another ​young player’s career is likely to be defined by his shot from 12 yards.

-Reuters

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KUNLE SOLAJA.

Africa’s representation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been reduced to its final three survivors as Cape Verde, Ghana and Egypt prepare for decisive Round of 32 encounters on Friday.

After the eliminations of Senegal, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa, the burden of keeping African hopes alive now rests on three nations seeking to extend the continent’s presence in the tournament.

For Cape Verde, Ghana and Egypt, the challenge could hardly be greater. Standing in their path are reigning world champions Argentina, a formidable Colombian side and an experienced Australian team.

The trio now carry not only their own ambitions but also those of an entire continent eager to see Africa maintain a foothold in the competition.

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