The Round of 16 at the World Cup concluded on Tuesday with another African casualty as Egypt went out at the hands of holders Argentina, having been tantalisingly close to one of the great World Cup upsets.
It leaves only Morocco to fly the flag for the continent as they go into the quarterfinal on Thursday against hot favourites France in Boston.
These have been the African heroes and heartbreakers after the second knockout rounds at the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States:
HEROES
Azzedine Ounahi: The Morocco midfielder was pushed somewhat higher up the pitch, from a No 6 role to more of a linking playmaker for Morocco against Canada in the last-16 in Houston, and it worked perfectly as he netted twice to see Morocco to a comfortable victory and a place in the last eight.
هدفان من عز الدين أوناحي في انتصار منتخبنا الوطني على كندا! 🤩🇲🇦
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) July 5, 2026
𝑨𝒁𝒁𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑬 𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑨𝑯𝑰 shines in today’s win over Canada! 👏#DimaMaghrib #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/evgE7L1v0p
Sofiane Rahimi: The substitute striker had to come on early for an injured Ismael Saibari in Morocco’s last-16 victory over Canada and was again among the goals, as he had been in a decisive fashion over Haiti in the last of the group games. He could get a first tournament start on Thursday against France.
🚨🇲🇦 Soufiane Rahimi (30) has 2 goals + 1 assist for Morocco at the World Cup despite only playing 122 minutes! ✅ pic.twitter.com/pXyjqX6HAk
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) July 4, 2026
Haissem Hassan: Egypt’s controversial exit from the World Cup, against Argentina, will long be a heartsore for the country, but one of the many highlights of their guts-showing was the dribbling skills of Hassan, who is French-born and a relatively new discovery for the Pharaohs.
Can Manchester United act fast? We have another Salah, but this version is more lethal than him.
— Kara (@UTDKarra) July 8, 2026
He wasn’t just tormenting mid defenders, but also Martínez, Romero & other top elite players. You can’t tell me that’s normal perfect winger to win us games. pic.twitter.com/j39VEh0BwO
Mostafa Shoubir: The goalkeeper did much earlier to keep his team in the game against Argentina with some superb saves, including stopping Lionel Messi’s penalty. Even better was his reflex stop to deny a point-blank header from Alexis Mac Allister and a full-body stretch to stop Julian Alvarez’s shot, pushing the ball around the post.
Mostafa Shoubir has been a wall for Egypt in the first-half 🆚 Argentina 🧤
— OneFootball (@OneFootball) July 7, 2026
💪 3 Saves
🧱 1 Penalty Save
🙌 5 Recoveries pic.twitter.com/6b0reHOEfu
HEARTBREAK
Mostafa Zico: Although he did score later against Argentina, the Egyptian attacker had his first effort out controversially, and it will forever be a VAR talking point. It came after a sweeping move with Hassan’s trickery and Mohamed Salah’s pass, but VAR found Marwan Attia had fouled Lisandro Martinez in the build-up.
Daylight robbery
— WeAreCityzens🩵🩵🏳️ (@CitySkyBluees) July 7, 2026
Argentina 🇦🇷 are robbing us in this World Cup and fifa president is the enabler pic.twitter.com/cIQCfUbWUe
Ismael Saibari: The Morocco striker went off after 22 minutes of the victory against Canada, and it is not sure whether he will play again at the World Cup. It was a non-contact hamstring injury, and any hamstring injury usually needs time to heal. He will be itching to play against France in Thursday’s quarterfinal.
🏥 Will Ismael Saibari be fit for Morocco's World Cup quarter-final against France?
— BilSports (@BilSports_) July 8, 2026
According to reports, examinations have shown that the injury isn't serious, but it remains uncertain whether Saibari will recover in time to feature against France.
Saibari wasn't pictured in… pic.twitter.com/CLX82mShk1
Omar Marmoush: The striker made an impressive start to his Premier League career at Manchester City, but he faded away in the second half of the recently concluded campaign and would have hoped to use the World Cup to remind people of his ability. But he was not in the starting line-up for Egypt when they lost to Argentina.
Hossam Hassan: The Egypt coach has always had a prickly side, and the worst of him came out after the heartbreaking loss to Argentina as he floated several conspiracy theories. It is true Egypt can feel aggrieved about the VAR, but at the end of the day, their tactics allowed Lionel Messi to lead a thrilling comeback.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan says Argentina's win was "entirely undeserved" 😳 pic.twitter.com/Zdyhz5VUfO
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) July 7, 2026
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