Nigeria’s former minister of finance and current director-general of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has expressed hope that the country’s national team, Super Eagles will be present at the next FIFA World Cup, after missing the current edition in USA, Mexico and Canada.
Sports247 reports that, while showering accolades on all African teams that featured at the ongoing FIFA World Cup, which is the first ever to be co-hosted by three countries and with a record 48 nations competing for glory, Okonjo-Iweala submitted that it would be exciting seeing Nigeria’s flag there in 2030.
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The next Mundial is already scheduled to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, also seen as another plus for the growth and image of African football, which Okonjo-Iweala noted received several plaudits when nine out of ten teams got to the knockout stage at the ongoing showpiece.
Okonjo-Iweala praised the performances of all African teams and hailed their resilience, even as she singled out Morocco for making it into the quarterfinals and Egypt for advancing to the round of 16, then rated debuting Cape Verde as the tournament’s standout squad overall.
The WTO top shot stated via social media, “So proud of the performance of the African teams at the World Cup! Morocco and Egypt have made it through so far, but Cape Verde was a standout.
“DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana also battled. Thanks to all for making us proud. Keeping fingers crossed on further progress! Would be exciting if Nigeria makes it through to the next World Cup.”
Sports247 reports further that Morocco are the highest-rated African team at the ongoing World Cup, as they are currently ranked sixth globally and they have emerged as the continent’s best bet at the 2026 Mundial, though they face a hefty quarter-final against France on Thursday.
The North African side will be aiming for a bigger part of history from their next game and hope to go beyond the semi-finals that they got to in 2022, which is still the farthest any team from the continent has ever reached.
A report by Forbes Africa noted, “It would be a surprise, but not a real shock for a Morocco team that is now ranked number six in the world, and their evolution into a top football nation was no better exemplified than their comprehensive 3-0 win over Canada in the last 16.
“Morocco took 50 minutes to break the deadlock, as Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and Soufiane Rahimi added a late third, but never looked flustered nor deviated from their plans.They absorbed pressure before inflicting three hammer blows on their opponent.
“Canada were on top in a frenzied opening and created several chances to score but were wasteful and made to pay. By contrast, Morocco had four shots on target in the 90 minutes and netted from three of them, economical in their chance creation but clinical with their finishing.”
