EXCLUSIVE — World Cup 2026: African Teams Impressed, But Super Eagles Would Have Done Better — Kalika
Retold by Oddsrama · 14 July 2026
African football is making serious moves on the world stage, and that message is loud and clear from Simon Kalika, the Dutch coach who worked with Nigeria's youth teams during the 2005 U-20 World Cup and 2008 Beijing Olympics. Speaking exclusively about the 2026 World Cup tournament, Kalika praised how the continent's representatives stepped up their game, even if the overall results weren't quite where many hoped they'd be. With ten African nations in the mix—Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, DR Congo, and South Africa—only Egypt and Morocco made the Round of 16, but the quality on display showed the gap between Africa and traditional powers is shrinking fast.
Kalika was particularly impressed by the underdog stories. Cape Verde, making their World Cup debut, nearly pulled off one of the tournament's biggest shocks against Argentina and came agonizingly close to proving the doubters wrong. DR Congo's qualification alone would have seemed impossible on paper before the tournament kicked off. These performances signal something important: African football federations are building properly, and the continent has an abundance of talent waiting to shine on the biggest stage.
But here's where it gets spicy for Nigerian fans. Kalika firmly believes Nigeria's Super Eagles would have outperformed every African nation at the tournament—yes, even Morocco and Egypt—had they qualified. With Nigerian players scattered across Europe's top leagues and playing at the highest level week in, week out, the talent pool was there. The three-time African champions' failure to reach Qatar 2026 remains a sore point, but Kalika's assessment highlights a harsh reality: Nigeria squandered a genuine opportunity to lead the continent's charge on the world's biggest platform.
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