The Egypt vs Argentina game is key for many Africans, at home and in the Diaspora. They are hoping Egypt beats Argentina this evening to join Morocco in the quarter-finals.
The African Teams
The Egypt vs Argentina game in the Round of 16 is scheduled for 16:00 GMT, July 7. This means that East Africans can watch the game at 7 p.m. this evening.
The 23rd World Cup edition began with 48 teams, and 10 of them were African. That is a great feat for Africa, considering that FIFA allocated it 9 direct slots.
Clearly, African teams put a lot of effort into securing the extra slot. They had to fight other world teams to get the slot, yet only 2 extra slots were up for grabs.
The African teams that qualified for the direct World Cup slots were Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Cabo Verde, Algeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Egypt.
Then the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) beat Jamaica in a play-off held in Mexico to win the 10th slot. Earlier in Africa, the DRC had beaten Cameroon and Nigeria.
Now Morocco has made Africa proud by reaching the quarter-finals. Still, Africans are optimistic that Egypt could beat Argentina and join Morocco in this World Cup’s quarter-finals.
Argentina Rooting for the US ahead of Egypt vs Argentina
In the Belgium vs USA game played this morning, Belgium beat the USA decisively, 4:1. East Africans were able to watch the game from 3 a.m., as it was slated for midnight GMT.
Incidentally, Argentinian players were rooting for the USA, and they were unhappy when the team lost to Belgium. This was probably a strategic move to have the home crowd root for them this evening as Argentina plays Egypt.
The Egypt vs Argentina game will take place at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Georgia.
Egypt vs Argentina: Will Africa have 2 Teams in the Quarter-finals?
Tonight’s game, slated for 19:00 EAT or 16:00 GMT, is among the last in the Round of 16. By the end of the game, Africans will know if Africa will have one or two teams in the quarter-finals.
Morocco beat Canada on Saturday, 4th July, to qualify for the quarter-finals. If Egypt beats Argentina this evening, Africa will have two teams in this year’s World Cup quarter-finals.
The World Cup quarter-finals normally have 8 competing teams, and the 23rd edition is no different. Already 6 teams have reached the quarter-finals. These are Morocco, France, Norway, England, Spain and Belgium.
The last game in the Round of 16 will be Switzerland vs Colombia. The game is slated for 20:00 GMT, which means that East Africans can watch it at 11 p.m. By the end of the night, the world should know all 8 teams in the 2026 quarter-finals.