For African men\u2019s football, 2024 was all about the Olympic Football Tournaments, the FIFA World Cup 26\u2122 qualifiers and, of course, the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire lifted their third Cup of Nations title on home soil against all the odds following a mid-tournament managerial change.<\/p>\n
Emerse Fae\u2019s squad weren\u2019t the only ones to make their mark in 2024 though, as Sudan and Tunisia have excelled in recent months on the road to the World Cup. Meanwhile, Morocco won bronze at the Olympics, writing another marvellous chapter in their history less than two years after becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup\u2122.<\/p>\n
With 2025 set to be yet another enthralling year, FIFA takes a closer look at the African continent\u2019s greatest success stories of the year across men\u2019s and women\u2019s football, futsal and beach soccer.<\/p>\n
World Cup qualifying
\nThere may have only been two matchdays in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 26 in 2024, but they allowed some teams to demonstrate their fine form.<\/p>\n
Dark horses Sudan held firm at the top of Group B, ahead of Senegal in second place, while Tunisia remained unstoppable as leaders of Group H and did not concede a single goal in their first four matches. The Ivorians have also got off to a fine start, and they are the campaign\u2019s top scorers with 12 goals, rounding off a fine year that began with their continental triumph at the start of 2024.<\/p>\n
Although many groups will only start to take shape over the course of 2025, some players have been eager to put their teams in a strong position going into the new year. Jordan Ayew bagged a hat-trick in Ghana\u2019s 4-3 victory over the Central African Republic, while Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet have been firing on all cylinders for the Pharaohs, sharing top spot in the individual scoring charts for the CAF qualifiers with five goals apiece.<\/p>\n
C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire \u2013 champions of Africa
\nHosted in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire at the start of 2024, the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations threw up a situation that nobody expected before the action got under way. The hosts struggled in the group stage but made it through by the skin of their teeth, unlike Algeria and Ghana, who both failed to progress to the knockout phase.<\/p>\n
The Ivorians were given a new lease of life midway through the tournament when Fae replaced Jean-Louis Gasset at the helm. The Elephants overcame West African rivals Senegal in the round of 16, eventually winning 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after the score had finished level at 1-1 after extra time, before coming from behind against Nigeria in the final to clinch the title with a 2-1 victory in front of over 57,000 fans in Abidjan. It\u2019s no surprise \u2013 when you consider the excellent performances of surprise packages Cabo Verde, Mauritania and Equatorial Guinea \u2013 that the tournament has been dubbed the \u201cAFCON of the century\u201d.<\/p>\n
Climbing up the FIFA\/Coca-Cola Men\u2019s World Ranking
\n\u06f2\u06f0\u06f2\u06f4 also saw a host of African teams rise up the FIFA\/Coca-Cola Men\u2019s World Ranking. When the first 2024 update to the ranking took place in February, Angola were the biggest climbers. Thanks to their journey all the way to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Palancas Negras jumped no fewer than 24 places.<\/p>\n
In June, Liberia were the biggest climbers, moving up ten places, while Comoros and Sudan both achieved the same feat by gaining ten places in the October ranking, with Comoros securing their best-ever ranking (108th). In November, Niger were the biggest climbers \u2013 jumping nine places to 122nd.<\/p>\n
Across the whole of 2024, Angola \u2013 who have contested more matches than anyone else in the ranking in 2024 (21) \u2013 have registered the biggest climb over the past 12 months, progressing a jaw-dropping 32 places to their current perch of 85th, better than Jordan (64th, up 23) and Fiji (148th, up 20).<\/p>\n
Morocco claim Olympic bronze
\nAlthough the Men\u2019s Olympic Football Tournament had an all-European final, in which Spain overcame France in a thrilling 5-3 contest after extra time, the African teams did their continent proud, with the bronze-medal match contested by Morocco and Egypt. Led by the magnificent Soufiane Rahimi \u2013 the competition\u2019s top scorer with eight goals \u2013 the Atlas Lions cruised to their first-ever Olympic football medal with a 6-0 romp, further reiterating their progress on the international stage.<\/p>\n
Beach soccer and futsal
\nHaving been crowned champions of African futsal for the third time running, Morocco cemented their domination on the continent, But at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024\u2122, despite Soufian Charraoui declaring beforehand that his team would \u201cfight for the cup\u201d, the Atlas Lions were eliminated by eventual champions Brazil in the quarter-finals after a 3-1 defeat. Neither Angola nor Libya, the two other African teams at the tournament, were able to progress beyond the group stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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