'Curse' ends three African teams' World Cup dream

'Curse' ends three African teams' World Cup dream The clock hitting 41 minutes of the second half has become synonymous with terror for the African continent at the 2026 World Cup. In a coincidence — or curse 😅 — three African national teams saw their places in the round of 16 slip through their fingers at exactly the 86th minute of their matches. So far, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Senegal have been the victims of this astonishing “curse” in the second round of the tournament being played in North America. Ivory Coast 1 x 2 Norway The Ivorians fought hard and managed to level the match in the 74th minute through Amad Diallo. However, in the 86th minute, star striker Erling Haaland found the net, sending Norway into the round of 16 to face Brazil. DR Congo 1 x 2 England With a heroic performance from goalkeeper Mpasi, the Congolese had been leading since the seventh minute. The dream fell apart when Harry Kane equalized in the 75th minute and, in the 86th, turned the game around with a screamer into the top corner, overtaking Pelé to become the sixth-highest scorer in World Cup history. Senegal 2 x 3 Belgium (After Extra Time) Senegal were cruising with a comfortable 2-0 lead. In the 86th minute, Romelu Lukaku scored and sparked Belgium’s comeback. Tielemans equalized soon after, in the 89th minute, and sealed the turnaround in extra time from the penalty spot. Exceptions So far, only two African teams have escaped the 86th-minute script in the second round (although with different outcomes): South Africa: They were eliminated by Canada, but the decisive goal scored by Stephen Eustaquio came a little later, in the 91st minute. Morocco: The only African team to qualify so far. They beat the Netherlands on penalties (3-2) after finding an equalizer in the 91st minute through Issa Diop. This Friday (3), the continent has a chance to turn things around and exorcise the ghost. Cape Verde, Egypt, Algeria, and Ghana take the field on the final day of the second round looking for the dream spot in the round of 16. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.