<a href="https://absafricatv.com/1327-nigerians-return-from-south-africa-as-fg-concludes-evacuation-exercise/" title="1,327 Nigerians Return From South Africa As FG Concludes Evacuation Exercise”>South African football strategist Sudesh Singh has given an in-depth analysis of the characteristic last-gasp collapse of African teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The former South African Football Association coaches’ director, in a write-up which Pan Africa Football has seen, described the disappointing performance of the continent’s 10 World Cup representatives as symptomatic of a shortage of systems and not talent.
How 10 African teams collapsed at the World Cup
“Africa sent ten teams to this World Cup. Nine reached the knockout rounds —the previous record across an entire World Cup was two. African teams took points off Brazil, England, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Belgium. The world watched Cape Verde, a nation of half a million people, play without fear,” Singh wrote.
“And then, one by one, they fell — almost all by a single goal, almost all in the dying moments. The 86th minute. The 89th. The 92nd. Extra time. Penalties. That pattern tells us everything. Africa is not short of talent. Africa is short of systems.”
Model of France
The well-known SuperSport TV pundit cited France as a perfect model of how Africans teams ought to fuse in aspects of play from elsewhere with traditional ways and come up with a distinct playing style, as was the case with the golden generation of Brazil.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns technical expert said this before France lost 2-0 to Spain on Tuesday in the World Cup semifinal.
“Watch France at this World Cup. Really watch them. The improvisation, the audacity, the rhythm in tight spaces — a squad drawing most of its magic from players of African and Afro-Arab heritage. It is what makes them so difficult to beat,” he noted.
What’s wrong with African football?
The former AmaZulu FC mentor highlighted fundamental gaps in the continent’s football development structures that lead to a lack of sufficient and sustainable education for young footballers.
In contrast, elsewhere, young players spend decades learning football from the age of eight, and hence make sound decisions under fatigue, master game management, tournament conditioning, and demonstrate tactical maturity when they graduate at the highest level.
“Our teams were not outplayed in those knockout games — they were out-developed…most of our players received that education late, abroad, and inside methodologies designed for someone else’s nature,” Singh explained.
“And for decades, that has been Africa’s story. We were taught that progress meant playing less like us—imported systems, imported ideas, imported doubt about our own instincts. We exported our magic and imported someone else’s manual.”
If the rest of the continent needs a football blueprint, then they should look no further than Morocco, whose side reached the 2022 World Cup semifinals and finished in the quarterfinals of the ongoing edition, he added.
“The talent has already conquered the world —it fills the great leagues of Europe and lifts World Cups under other flags. The final step is not to find the talent, but to build the systems around it, at home. When that happens, Africa will not be chasing global football. Africa will be its centre,” the veteran coach concluded.
Kenyan journalist Collins Okinyo, writing on his X.com @bedjosessien on July 10, seemed to agree with the observation of the Malawi women’s football team technical advisor Singh.
“African teams at the 2026 World Cup have learned that natural talent is not enough to win. They now know they need strong organization, tactical discipline, and mental toughness to succeed.
Apart from Tunisia, which failed to make it past the World Cup group stages, the rest reached the World Cup knockout phase, with Egypt surrendering a 2-0 lead to concede three goals in the last 10 minutes and extra time and lose 3-2 to holders Argentina in the quarterfinals.
Senegal, too, squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Belgium in the Round of 32. Succumbing under pressure was also the story of other Africans sides such as Cape Verde and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
