When four-time World Cup champion Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament, then-head coach Gennaro Gattuso questioned FIFA's expanded allocation of World Cup places to Africa.
"Africa deserves fewer World Cup slots," he said, referring to the continent's automatic qualification places increasing from five to nine under the expanded 48-team format. The total later rose to 10 after the Democratic Republic of Congo won an intercontinental playoff to secure its first World Cup appearance in 52 years.
But was Gattuso, who helped Italy lift the World Cup as a midfielder in 2006, right? Was Africa overrepresented in the United States, Canada and Mexico?
Apart from a disastrous showing by Tunisia, which axed coach Sabri Lamouchi after its first group game and lost all three matches, African flag-bearers proved competitive, justifying their presence.
The other nine representatives reached the knockout stage, five as group runners-up. The other four were among the eight best third-placed teams.
That represents a 90% success rate, the highest among FIFA's regional confederations, followed by South America (83.33%), Europe (81.25%) and Asia (22.22%).
Europe did surge to the fore in the knockout phase with six quarterfinalists. Africa and South America had one each.
African teams were less successful in the round of 32, with seven eliminated. Egypt reached the round of 16, and Morocco became the first African team to reach the quarterfinals twice.
A worrying trend was conceding late goals, with star strikers Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland among those benefiting.
Messi equalized as Argentina turned a two-goal deficit against Egypt into a 3-2 victory. Kane scored twice as England edged the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haaland netted the winner as Norway beat Ivory Coast.
A spectacular collapse saw Senegal surrender a two-goal advantage with five minutes remaining against Belgium to lose after extra time.
Many Africans believed Senegal would be the best performer among the 10 qualifiers, but the Teranga Lions flopped, losing three of four games and scraping into the round of 32 as the eighth-best third-placed team.
In the aftermath of the Teranga Lions' exit, there were hints of internal strife. Midfielder Pape Gueye said he would not represent his country again until coach Pape Thiaw was dismissed.
Dramatic turnaround
Egypt led Argentina 2-0, having had another goal controversially disallowed, with 12 minutes remaining.
But a dramatic turnaround culminated in an Enzo Fernandez header giving the titleholders a 3-2 victory.
Losing coach Hossam Hassan speculated that the officiating team, headed by French referee Francois Letexier, may have been subjected to "external pressure" to favor Argentina.
FIFA referees committee chairman Pierluigi Collina responded: "Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best."
TV analyst and former France star Thierry Henry said, "African sides relax too early. People talk about talent and passion, but when they go two goals up, the focus drops."
Co-analyst and former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added: "Several African teams that were leading found a way to lose. In a World Cup, that is not bad luck, that is bad game management."
Morocco's loss to France in the quarterfinals demonstrated that while African football is progressing, there is still a significant gap when facing Europe's elite.
It took the Atlas Lions 83 minutes to register a shot on target, and France goalkeeper Mike Maignan comfortably pushed away a speculative effort from Azzedine Ounahi.
There were no excuses from Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
"France are a really great side ... they have rarely had as much talent as they do now."
Morocco has already qualified for the 2030 World Cup along with fellow hosts Portugal and Spain. A 115,000-seat stadium is being built near Casablanca with the aim of staging the final.
While Morocco went the furthest, round-of-32 loser Cape Verde enthralled millions of spectators and TV viewers despite not winning any of its four matches.
The tiny archipelago off West Africa, with a population of just over half a million, held Spain to a 0-0 draw in its opening match.
Goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, made a string of superb saves to deny one of the title favorites.
The worldwide impact was stunning. His Instagram following soared from 50,000 to 5 million.
Cape Verde equalized twice before losing 3-2 to Argentina in a round-of-32 match, and its second goal, a looping cross-cum-shot from Sidny Lopes Cabral, should be a contender for the best goal of the tournament.