WC Countdown: How many Africans are in other teams?
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Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 03.06.26. | 22:33
France has a stunning number of 18 players of African descent
If we had to answer to the question from the headline of this article in one word, it would be ‘many’. Every World Cup we make an article about footballers with African origin and it looks that the number is always growing. A huge number of participating countries have footballers who are either born in some African country, or their parents came from the continent, which means that their kids are eligible to play for the country of their origin, yet they decided, for various reasons, not to do so. And it’s a great pity, because if we look only at the most famous players in this World Cup, some African countries would be candidates for the title. Some of the world's best players from Real, Manchester City, Arsenal, PSG or Bayern Munich are on this list.
12 non-African participating countries have footballers of African descent in their teams, and not surprisingly, one of them is the favorite for the trophy in 2026, France, with a whopping number of 18 (out of 26) players! Other countries are Switzerland (9), England (8) Germany (7), Belgium (7), Australia (5), Sweden (5), Austria (4), Portugal (3), USA (3), Spain (2) and Norway (2). The total number of players with African descent is 73, and some of them could play for more than one country, as their parents come from two different African countries.
When it comes to nations, Nigeria is the biggest, as 15 footballers from other countries could have played for the Super Eagles. If some of them decided to represent this country, maybe Nigeria would qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Others which follow are DR Congo (13), Ghana (10), Cameroon (6), Ivory Coast (5), Angola (5), Senegal (4), Liberia (4), Algeria (4), South Sudan (3), Mali (3), Cape Verde (2), Kenya (2). Ethiopia, Tunisia, Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Tanzania, Uganda, Mauritania, Togo and Martinique all have one ‘representative’ each.
Nigeria:
Promise David - Union SG
Tani Oluwaseyi – Villarreal
Owen Goodman – Crystal Palace
Noah Okafor – Leeds
Manuel Akanji – Inter Milan
Folarin Balogun – Monaco
Antonio Nusa – Leipzig
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal
Noni Madueke – Arsenal
Eberechi Eze - Arsenal
Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich
Felix Nmecha – Dortmund
Carney Chukwuemeka – Dortmund
David Alaba – No club
Michael Olise – Bayern Munich
DR Congo
Moise Bombito – Nice
Johan Manzambi – Freiburg
Denis Zakaria – Monaco
Ken Sema – Pafos (Congo)
Ezri Konsa – Aston Villa
Youri Tielemans – Aston Villa
Dodi Lukebakio – Benfica
Koni De Winter – AC Milan
Nathan Ngoy – Lille
Jean-Philippe Mateta – Crystal Palace
Pierre Kalulu - Juventus
Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid
Brice Samba - Rennes
Ghana
Richie Laryea – Toronto
Alphonso Davies - Bayern Munich
Haji Wright - Coventry City
Isak Hien – Atalanta
Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester
Jarell Quansah – Liverpool
Jamie Leweling – Stuttgart
Kevin Danso – Tottenham
Nico Williams – Bilbao
Romelu Lukaku – Napoli
Cameroon
Breel Embolo – Rennes
Aurele Amenda – Frankfurt
Yvon Mvogo – Lorient
Anthony Elanga – Newcastle
Amadou Onana – Aston Villa
Kylian Mbappe – Real Madrid
Ivory Coast
Ismael Kone – Sassuolo
Marc Guehi – Manchester City
Jonathan Tah – Bayern
Desire Doue - PSG
Manu Kone – Roma
Angola
Johan Manzambi – Freiburg
Ezri Konsa – Aston Villa
Rafael Leao – AC Milan
Malo Gusto - Chelsea
Eduardo Camavinga – Real Madrid
Senegal
Djibril Sow – Seville
Leroy Sane – Galatasaray
Malick Thiaw – Newcastle
Amadou Onana – Aston Villa
Liberia
Alphonso Davies – Bayern Munich
Haji Wright - Coventry City
Tim Weah – Marseille
Mohamed Toure – Norwich
South Sudan
Denis Zakaria – Monaco
Tete Yengi – Livingston
Awer Mabil – Castellon
Algeria
Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid
Michael Olise – Bayern Munich
Rayan Cherki – Manchester City
Maghnes Akliouche - Monaco
Mali
Ousmane Dembele - PSG
Ibrahima Konate – No club
N'Golo Kante – Fenerbahce
Cape Verde
Nuno Mendes – PSG
Nelson Semedo – Fenerbahce
Ethiopia
Ali Ahmed – Norwich
Tunisia
Zeki Amdouni – Burnley
Guinea
Mohamed Toure – Norwich
Eritrea
Alexander Isak - Liverpool
Gambia
Oscar Bobb – Fulham
Somalia
Taha Abdi Ali – Malmo
Sierra Leone
Antonio Rudiger – Real Madrid
Guinea-Bissau
Dayot Upamecano – Bayern Munich
Equatorial Guinea
Lamine Yamal – Barcelona
Morocco
Lamine Yamal - Barcelona
Tanzania
Nestory Irankunda – Watford
Uganda
Jason Geria – Albirex Niigata
Mauritania
Ousmane Dembele - PSG
Togo
Bradley Barcola - PSG
Martinique
Brice Samba - Rennes
WORLD CUP - GROUP STAGE
First round
Thursday, 11.06.
22.00: (1.50) Mexico (4.00) S.Africa (7.25)
Friday, 12. 06.
05.00: (2.70) S.Korea (3.10) Czech R. (2.75)
22.00: (1.85) Canada (3.70) B&H (4.25)
Saturday, 13.06.
04.00: (2.05) USA (3.35) Paraguay (3.80)
22.00: (12.0) Qatar (5.40) Switzerland (1.28)
Sunday, 14.06.
01.00: (1.62) Brazil (3.80) Morocco (5.80)
04.00: (6.80) Haiti (4.45) Scotland (1.47)
07.00: (4.50) Australia (3.50) Turkey (1.83)
20.00: (1.03) Germany (15.0) Curacao (50.0)
02.00: (2.10) Netherlands (3.45) Japan (3.50)
***odds are subject to change***