‘We are knocking on the door’: Africa’s 10 contenders target World Cup glory

Morocco’s semi-final appearance in Qatar has raised the possibility of an African team reaching the final, but who are best poised to do so?

With a record 10 African teams at the first 48-nation World Cup, the big question, after Morocco’s historic semi-final appearance in Qatar, is whether any of them can go a step further.

The prospect of an African side becoming world champions appeared realistic after Cameroon defied the odds to beat Diego Maradona’s Argentina, the defending champions, in the opening game of the 1990 tournament and embarked on a fairytale run that ended in a 3-2 quarter-final defeat by England. But in the eight subsequent World Cups, African teams have been long on promise and short on delivery.