To date, no African national team has ever won the FIFA World Cup. Every tournament since 1930 has been won by a team from either Europe (12 titles) or South America (10 titles).
African nations have achieved strong tournament runs, though none have reached the final. In the 2022 edition in Qatar, Morocco reached the semi-finals, finishing in fourth place (the best-ever result for an African side).
Meanwhile, Cameroon, Senegal, and Ghana managed to reach the quarters of the 1990, 2002, and 2010 editions. At the 2026 World Cup, nine out of Africa’s 10 representatives advanced to the knockout stage - a record-breaking performance for the confederation.
‘Gap between Africa and Europe’
“I think there’s work to be done: how to improve these details? How to build a team around the team?” said Vieira when asked about Africa’s chances at the World Cup as quoted by Wiw Sports.
“I think we don’t give enough consideration to nutrition, recovery, and all the little details that will allow players to recover as quickly as possible and perform well three or four days later.”
Vieira added: “There's a process to optimise recovery and ensure players are at 100% three days later. The hardest part isn’t the first or second match.
“The most complicated part is when you get out of the group stage and reach the round of 16 or the quarter-finals. That’s where there’s another hurdle to overcome.
“You really have to optimise recovery and all those little details that will allow African players to recover much faster. I think there’s a gap between Africa and Europe.”
The former Crystal Palace manager recently took charge of the Lions of Teranga and oversaw three matches. The first two were 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches, and the other was a friendly to mark a FIFA international break.
His first match in charge of the team ended in a 1-1 draw against Mozambique, before Senegal recovered to edge out Ethiopia 1-0 in matchday two. The friendly was against Comoros which Senegal won 1-0.
“I recently arrived in Senegal and I’m quite surprised by the infrastructure and organisation surrounding the team with the president. We’re currently working to put things in place, precisely to optimise performance,” said Vieira.
“It is with great humility that I will speak, because I am perhaps the coach with the least experience on the African continent to give my opinion on African football.
“Moreover, I am quite surprised by the lack of consideration for the talent in African football. I think the African continent has a huge number of players, very great players.
“So, it’s not a problem of quality, it’s not a problem of technique. I think it’s not a problem of coaches, because the competence on the pitch is there.”
In a recent interview, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Africa has made a huge step forward in their quest to win the FIFA World Cup.
Wenger, who was speaking during the CAF Strategy Conference in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde, said: “Africa has made a fantastic step forward.
“There is still another step to make. We want to see an African team win the World Cup, and the numbers show that it is feasible.
“The numbers don’t lie, but football is not only numbers. It is also attitude, mental qualities, unity and your value system. Those are things you have to continue working on.”
During the meeting, CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino opened the day before FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Wenger, FIFA Technical Study Group member Otto Addo and FIFA Team Lead for Football Performance Analysis Aaron Ackerman presented a detailed technical review of Africa’s campaign.
