document_title: The Fall of the House of Usher

question_text: when is the first time that eye in the singular is mentioned in the story

text: The Fall of the House of Usher

text: Plot[edit]

text: The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help. As he arrives, the narrator notes a thin crack extending from the roof, down the front of the building and into the adjacent lake.

text: Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern psychological science, Roderick's condition can be described according to its terminology. It includes a form of sensory overload known as hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to textures, light, sounds, smells and tastes), hypochondria (an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness) and acute anxiety.[citation needed] It is revealed that Roderick's twin sister, Madeline, is also ill and falls into cataleptic, deathlike trances. Roderick and Madeline are the only remaining members of the Usher family.

text: The narrator is impressed with Roderick's paintings, and attempts to cheer him by reading with him and listening to his improvised musical compositions on the guitar. Roderick sings "The Haunted Palace", then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be alive, and that this sentience arises from the arrangement of the masonry and vegetation surrounding it. Further, Roderick believes that his fate is connected to the family mansion.

text: Roderick later informs the narrator that his sister has died and insists that she be entombed for two weeks in the family tomb located in the house before being permanently buried. The narrator helps Roderick put the body in the tomb, and he notes that Madeline has rosy cheeks, as some do after death. They inter her, but over the next week both Roderick and the narrator find themselves becoming increasingly agitated for no apparent reason. A storm begins. Roderick comes to the narrator's bedroom, which is situated directly above the vault, and throws open his window to the storm. He notices that the tarn surrounding the house seems to glow in the dark, as it glowed in Roderick Usher's paintings, although there is no lightning.

text: The narrator attempts to calm Roderick by reading aloud The Mad Trist, a novel involving a knight named Ethelred who breaks into a hermit's dwelling in an attempt to escape an approaching storm, only to find a palace of gold guarded by a dragon. He also finds, hanging on the wall, a shield of shining brass on which is written a legend:

text: With a stroke of his mace, Ethelred kills the dragon, who dies with a piercing shriek, and proceeds to take the shield, which falls to the floor with an unnerving clatter.

text: As the narrator reads of the knight's forcible entry into the dwelling, cracking and ripping sounds are heard somewhere in the house. When the dragon is described as shrieking as it dies, a shriek is heard, again within the house. As he relates the shield falling from off the wall, a reverberation, metallic and hollow, can be heard. Roderick becomes increasingly hysterical, and eventually exclaims that these sounds are being made by his sister, who was in fact alive when she was entombed. Additionally, Roderick somehow knew that she was alive. The bedroom door is then blown open to reveal Madeline standing there. She falls on her brother, and both land on the floor as corpses. The narrator then flees the house, and, as he does so, notices a flash of moonlight behind him which causes him to turn back, in time to see the moon shining through the suddenly widened crack. As he watches, the House of Usher splits in two and the fragments sink into the tarn.

text: Publication history[edit]

text: "The Fall of the House of Usher" was first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. It contains within it Poe's poem "The Haunted Palace", which had earlier been published separately in the April 1839 issue of the Baltimore Museum magazine.

text: In 1928, Éditions Narcisse, predecessor to the Black Sun Press, published a limited edition of 300 numbered copies with illustrations by Alastair.

text: Sources of inspiration[edit]

text: Poe's inspiration for the story may be based upon events of the Hezekiah Usher House, which was located on the Usher estate that is now a three-block area bounded in modern Boston by Tremont Street to the northwest, Washington Street to the southeast, Avery Street to the south and Winter Street to the north. The house was constructed in 1684 and either torn down or relocated in 1830.[2]

text: Other sources indicate that a sailor and the young wife of the older owner were caught and entombed in their trysting spot by her husband. When the Usher House was torn down in 1830, two bodies were found embraced in a cavity in the cellar.[3]

text: Another source of inspiration may be from an actual couple by the name Mr. and Mrs. Luke Usher, the friends and fellow actors of his mother Eliza Poe.[4] The couple took care of Eliza's three children (including Poe) during her time of illness and eventual death.[citation needed]

text: German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, who was a role model and inspiration for Poe, published the story Das Majorat in 1819. There are many similarities between the two stories, like the breaking in two of a house, eerie sounds in the night, the story within a story and the house owner being called "Roderich". As Poe was familiar with Hoffmann's works he certainly knew the story and cleverly drew from it using the element for his own purposes.[5]

text: Another German author, Heinrich Clauren's, 1812 story The Robber's Castle, as translated into English by John Hardman and published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1828 as "The Robber's Tower", may have served as an inspiration according to Arno Schmidt and Thomas Hansen.[6] As well as common elements, such as a young woman with a fear of premature burial interred in a sepulchre directly beneath the protagonist's chamber, stringed instruments and the living twin of the buried girl, Diane Hoeveler identifies textual evidence of Poe's use of the story, and concludes that the inclusion of Vigiliae Mortuorum secundum Chorum Ecclesiae Maguntinae (Vigils for the Dead according to the Use of the Church of Mainz) is drawn from the use of a similarly obscure book in "The Robber's Tower".[7][8]

text: Analysis[edit]

text: "The Fall of the House of Usher" is considered the best example of Poe's "totality", wherein every element and detail is related and relevant.[9]

text: The theme of the crumbling, haunted castle is a key feature of Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto (1764), which largely contributed in defining the Gothic genre. The presence of a capacious, disintegrating house symbolizing the destruction of the human body is a characteristic element in Poe's later work.[10]

text: "The Fall of the House of Usher" shows Poe's ability to create an emotional tone in his work, specifically feelings of fear, doom, and guilt.[11]

text: These emotions center on Roderick Usher, who, like many Poe characters, suffers from an unnamed disease. Like the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart", his disease inflames his hyperactive senses. The illness manifests physically but is based in Roderick's mental or even moral state. He is sick, it is suggested, because he expects to be sick based on his family's history of illness and is, therefore, essentially a hypochondriac.[12] Similarly, he buries his sister alive because he expects to bury her alive, creating his own self-fulfilling prophecy.[citation needed]

text: The House of Usher, itself doubly referring both to the actual structure and the family, plays a significant role in the story. It is the first "character" that the narrator introduces to the reader, presented with a humanized description: its windows are described as "eye-like" twice in the first paragraph. The fissure that develops in its side is symbolic of the decay of the Usher family and the house "dies" along with the two Usher siblings. This connection was emphasized in Roderick's poem "The Haunted Palace" which seems to be a direct reference to the house that foreshadows doom.[13]

text: L. Sprague de Camp, in his Lovecraft: A Biography, wrote that "[a]ccording to the late [Poe expert] Thomas O. Mabbott, [H. P.] Lovecraft, in 'Supernatural Horror', solved a problem in the interpretation of Poe" by arguing that "Roderick Usher, his sister Madeline, and the house all shared one common soul".[14]

text: The explicit psychological dimension of this tale has prompted many critics to analyze it as a description of the human psyche, comparing, for instance, the House to the unconscious, and its central crack to a split personality. Mental disorder is also evoked through the themes of melancholy, possible incest, and vampirism. An incestuous relationship between Roderick and Madeline is never explicitly stated, but seems implied by the strange attachment between the two.[15]

text: Opium, which Poe mentions several times in both his prose and poems, is mentioned twice in the tale. The gloomy sensation occasioned by the dreary landscape around the Usher mansion is compared by the narrator to the sickness caused by the withdrawal symptoms of an opiate-addict. The narrator also describes Roderick Usher's appearance as that of an "irreclaimable eater of opium".

text: Allusions and references[edit]

text:
The opening epigraph quotes "Le Refus" (1831) by the French songwriter Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780–1857), translated to English as "his heart is a suspended lute, as soon as it is touched, it resounds". Béranger's original text reads "Mon cœur" (my heart) and not "Son cœur" (his/her heart).
The narrator describes one of Usher's musical compositions as "a ... singular perversion and amplification of the wild air of the last waltz of Von Weber". Poe here refers to a popular piano work of his time — which, though going by the title "Weber's Last Waltz" was actually composed by Carl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798–1859).[16] A manuscript copy of the music was found among Weber's papers upon his death in 1826 and the work was mistakenly attributed to him.
Usher's painting reminds the narrator of the Swiss-born British painter Henry Fuseli (1741–1825).

text: Literary significance and criticism[edit]

text: Along with "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Black Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Fall of the House of Usher" is considered among Poe's most famous works of prose.[17] This highly unsettling macabre work is recognized as a masterpiece of American Gothic literature. Indeed, as in many of his tales, Poe borrows much from the already developed Gothic tradition. Still, as G. R. Thomson writes in his Introduction to Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe, "the tale has long been hailed as a masterpiece of Gothic horror; it is also a masterpiece of dramatic irony and structural symbolism."[18]

text: "The Fall of the House of Usher" has been criticized for being too formulaic. Poe was criticized for following his own patterns established in works like "Morella" and "Ligeia," using stock characters in stock scenes and stock situations. Repetitive themes like an unidentifiable disease, madness, and resurrection are also criticized.[19] Washington Irving explained to Poe in a letter dated November 6, 1839, "You have been too anxious to present your pictures vividly to the eye, or too distrustful of your effect, and had laid on too much colouring. It is erring on the best side--the side of luxuriance."[20]

text: Scholars speculate that Poe, who was an influence on Herman Melville, inspired the character of Ahab in Melville's novel Moby-Dick. John McAleer maintained that the idea for "objectifying Ahab's flawed character" came from the "evocative force" of Poe's 'The Fall of the House of Usher.' In both Ahab and the house of Usher, the appearance of fundamental soundness is visibly flawed — by Ahab's livid scar, and by the fissure in the masonry of Usher.[21]

text: In other media[edit]

text: La Chute de la maison Usher is a 1928 silent French horror film directed by Jean Epstein starring Marguerite Gance, Jean Debucourt, and Charles Lamy.

text: Actress Gwendoline Watford made her film debut playing Lady Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher, a British black and white film version made in 1947 but not released until 1950.

text: In the low-budget Roger Corman B-film from 1960, known in the United States as House of Usher starring Vincent Price as Roderick Usher, the narrator is Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon), who had fallen in love with the sickly Madeline (Myrna Fahey) during her brief residence in Boston and become engaged to her. As Roderick reveals, the Usher family has a history of evil and cruelty so great that he and Madeline pledged in their youth never to have children and to allow their family to die with them. Winthrop tries desperately to convince Madeline to leave with him in spite of Roderick's disapproval, and is on the point of succeeding when Madeline falls into a deathlike catalepsy; her brother (who knows that she is still alive) convinces Winthrop that she is dead and rushes to have her placed in the family crypt. When she wakes up, Madeline goes insane from being buried alive and breaks free. She confronts her brother and begins throttling him to death. Suddenly the house, already aflame due to fallen coals from the fire, begins to collapse, and Winthrop flees as Roderick is killed by Madeline and both she and the Ushers' sole servant are consumed by the falling house. The film was Corman's first in a series of eight films inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

text: Another monochrome version appeared on British television in 1966 as part of the first series of Mystery and Imagination (1966–68) starring Denholm Elliott as Roderick Usher. It's one of only two surviving episodes of the otherwise lost first series (the other being "The Open Door" starring Jack Hawkins. It is available on the Network DVD label in the UK. It was filmed on studio sets, recorded on videotape and broadcast on ITV on 12 February 1966.

text: A devout fan of the works of Poe, cult director Curtis Harrington tackled the story in his first and last films. Casting himself in dual roles as Roderick and Madeline Usher in both versions, Harrington shot his original 10-minute silent short on 8mm in 1942,[22] and he shot a new 36 minute version simply titled Usher on 35mm[22] in 2000 which he intended to utilize in a longer Poe anthology film that never came to fruition.[23] Both versions were included on the 2013 DVD/Blu-ray release Curtis Harrington: The Short Film Collection.

text: In the early 1970s, Steven Berkoff worked on a theatrical adaptation called 'The Fall of the House of Usher' whose 35 brief scenes follow closely the course of Poe's story. Published by Amber Lane Press, it was performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1974 and subsequently at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1975.

text: In 2002 Lance Tait wrote a one-act play The Fall of the House of Usher, based on Poe's tale. Laura Grace Pattillo wrote in The Edgar Allan Poe Review (2006), "[Tait's] play follows Poe's original story quite closely, using a female Chorus figure to help further the tale as the 'Friend' (as Tait names the narrator) alternates between monologue and conversation with Usher."[24]

text: The Fall of the House of Usher (2015), narrated by Christopher Lee, animated short film which is part of Extraordinary Tales[25][26]

text: Between 1908 and 1917, French composer Claude Debussy worked on an opera called La chute de la maison Usher. The libretto was his own, based on Poe, and the work was to be a companion piece to another short opera (Le diable dans le beffroi) based on Poe's "The Devil in the Belfry". At Debussy's death the work was unfinished, however. In recent years completions have been attempted by three different musicologists.

text: Another operatic version, composed by Philip Glass in 1987 with a libretto by Arthur Yorinks, premiered at American Repertory Theatre and the Kentucky Opera in 1988 and was revived at the Nashville Opera in 2009.[27] The Long Beach Opera mounted a version of this work in February 2013 at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, Los Angeles.[28]

text: In 2008, a musical theatre adaptation ("Usher") written by two Yale students (Sarah Hirsch and Molly Fox) won the Best Musical award at the New York International Fringe Festival.[29][30][31]


document_title: Education of the British royal family

question_text: where did the queen of england go to school

root

text: Education of the British royal family

text: Tudor and Elizabethan eras[edit]

text: The scholar Erasmus and his fellow humanists, who promoted the liberal arts and sciences over military training for princes, had an influence on the curriculum studied by Henry VIII's children, and later the Stuart princes.[1]

tag: p

text: Henry VIII established an elite palace school for his son Prince Edward, selecting fourteen sons of prominent aristocrats to be educated alongside him.[2] Biographer Alison Weir writes: "The men who were given responsibility for the Prince's education were among the most brilliant scholars of their day".[2] Edward was taught by Dr. Richard Cox, a clergyman who later become provost of Eton College and bishop of Ely, as well as John Cheke, the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University.[2] Elizabeth I was well-educated, receiving lessons alongside her brother Edward and later being tutored by William Grindal and Roger Ascham.[3][4] Elizabeth was proficient in French, Italian and Latin, using these foreign-language skills to interact with foreign diplomats and to create a "sizeable body of translations" over the course of her life.[4] Battista Castiglione served as Elizabeth's formal tutor in Italian.[5]

text: Historian Aysha Pollnitz writes: "While Erasmus never managed to deter English or Scottish royal boys from military training, he did succeed in tipping the scales in letters' favour: between 1534 in England, 1566 in Scotland and the outbreak of the Bishops' Wars in 1639, princes male and female spent more time learning to wield pens than swords or guns".[6] During this period, "British princes were notably bookish" in comparison to the Spanish Hapsburgs (who emphasized "bureaucratic skills, handling weapons, and orthodox piety").[6] While royal females in early modern Britain were not raised in preparation to rule and received liberal educations that were constrained in comparison to their male relatives, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia all wrote letters generally praised by scholars.[7] Lady Jane Grey was tutored by clergyman John Aylmer, her family's chaplain, and "distinguished herself in her studies beyond her parents' wishes, since they were more interested in preparing her for the stylish life of court" than for serious academic learning.[3]

text: Stuart era[edit]

text: The education of Charles I of England was overseen by Sir Thomas Murray, who taught Charles "the usual subjects: the Classics, French, Italian, arithmetic and theology" and supervised other tutors to the future king—Charles Guerolt, who taught fencing; John Beauchesne (who taught fine penmanship), and John Norton (who oversaw the library).[8] Charles's education "has been praised and blamed for forming his personality and political conduct" in the lead-up to the English Civil War.[9] Samuel Rawson Gardiner and Conrad Russell believed that Charles's education had not taught him empathy or the ability "to identify both sides of a political or religious question, a skill that may have taught him to appreciate both his opponents' perspectives or at least to anticipate their arguments and negotiate with them effectively".[9]

text: In 1635, Brian Duppa—dean of Christ Church and a chaplain to Charles I—was appointed tutor to the future Charles II.[10] Duppa was well-suited to the position and had a close relationship with Charles for the rest of his life.[10] Other tutors were brought in as well - including Peter Massonnet, who taught the prince Latin, Spanish, Italian, and most importantly French; Henry Gregory, who taught the prince to write; and Guilaume le Pierrie, a Frenchman hired when Charles was six years old to teach him dancing.[11] In 1638, William Cavendish, Earl of Newcastle was placed in overall charge of the prince (then seven years old) as his governor.[10][12]

text: Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian eras[edit]

text: In the 18th century, George III had his two eldest sons—his heir Prince George of Wales (later George IV), and Prince Frederick (later the Duke of York and Albany)—educated in emulation of French royal custom.[13] A governor and sub-governor were appointed for the child's discipline and morals, and the preceptor and sub-preceptor for lessons concerning academic subjects.[13]

text: The role and public perceptions of the monarchy have changed over time,[14] raising "interesting questions about the ideal upbringing and preparation of future constitutional kings and queens, including their formal education".[15] Walter Bagehot, in his book The British Constitution, concluded that a prince's education "can be but a poor education and that a royal family will generally have less ability than other families".[16]

text: Historians have "assessed how well royal education has prepared monarchs for their political and ceremonial role" in British society.[17] Peter Gordon and Dennis Lawton rated the education of Queen Victoria as good, "yet in contrast no subsequent monarch (or current heir) has been anywhere near adequately educated".[17] Ross McKibbin argues that the educations of George V, Edward VIII, and George VI were "aimless" and "narrow," leaving them with the equivalent to the educations of "landed gentry with military connections".[17]

text: Although phrenology was largely discredited by the mid-19th century,[18] Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had their children evaluated by a phrenologist. He described her eldest son Edward VII (Queen Elizabeth II's great-grandfather) as having a skull that was "feeble and abnormal".[19] Throughout her life, Victoria believed Edward to have a "small, empty brain".[19]

text: Edward briefly attended the universities at Edinburgh, Oxford, and Cambridge, but did not graduate from any of them.[20] Dennis Judd, professor of British history at London Metropolitan University has opined that "there is no evidence" Edward's brief time at these universities "did much good" and William Ewart Gladstone said of the king that he "knew everything except what is in books".[20] John Neale Dalton, one of Edward's tutors, said that the future king had a "weakness of brain, this feebleness and lack of power to grasp almost anything put before him"; another tutor, J. K. Stephen, determined there was no use for Edward to attend university at all since he was unable to understand the words he was reading.[21] As a "tribute to his birth, rather than his intellect" he was granted an honorary LL.D.[21] Edward VII, however, had great social gifts; his popularity is believed to have helped the United Kingdom create alliances in Europe in the early 20th century.[22]

text: Victoria's youngest son, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford, in November 1872. He had been diagnosed about 1859 with haemophilia,[23] having shown symptoms from a young age. It is now known to be haemophilia B and believed to have resulted from a gene mutation in Victoria.[24] The family tried to take measures through Leopold's youth to protect his health; the disease was not well understood at the time. He studied science, art and the modern languages at Oxford but did not receive a university degree; he was granted an honorary doctorate from Oxford University in 1876.[25][26] He also was believed to suffer from epilepsy,[27] and died young in 1884.[25] His death is attributed to haemophilia.[28] (Note: Victoria's daughters Alice and Beatrice inherited the gene for haemophilia and passed it to their descendants in the Russian and Spanish royal families.[28])

text: George VI, the current Queen's father, attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, which was then a junior officer training facility for students of secondary-school age; he finished at the bottom of his class. George studied for one year at the University of Cambridge, but did not complete an undergraduate degree.[29]

text: Modern era[edit]

text: According to journalist Katy Guest, commenting in 2008, "the royal family is not known for its intellectualism".[30]

text: Elizabeth II's generation[edit]

text: The reigning queen, Elizabeth II, and her sister Margaret were the last members of the royal family to be educated at home by tutors in the traditional manner.[31] Elizabeth and Margaret were home-schooled by their governess Marion Crawford. Private tutors of Elizabeth included the provost of Eton, Henry Marten, who instructed her in constitutional history.[32][33] Elizabeth speaks French fluently,[30] learning from a succession of governesses who were native speakers.[34] During World War II, then-Princess Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and participated in a Vehicle Maintenance Course at Aldershot; the length of the course is variously reported as six weeks[35] and three weeks.[36]

text: Historian David Starkey described Elizabeth II in his 2007 television documentary series Monarchy as poorly learned, comparing her to a "housewife" in terms of cultural refinement and intellectual curiosity.[37][38] According to The Telegraph, his comments prompted rebuttals from several sources. Royal biographer Penny Junor said: "The Queen is certainly cultured even if not that moved by the arts. The Prince of Wales has a great sense of history and a lot of that comes from his mother".[38] Marco Houston, editor of Royalty Monthly, said Elizabeth "may not have had the best formal education, but she has had the best education at the university of life".[39]

text: Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Elizabeth's cousin, studied architecture at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Richard graduated in 1966 after completing three years of a five-year architectural course; after a practical year at an office in the Ministry of Public Building and Works, Richard returned to Cambridge and in June 1969 passed both parts of a diploma in architecture.[40] Richard went on to work as an architect.[40]

text: Elizabeth and Philip's children and their spouses[edit]

text: After being tutored as a child, Prince Charles briefly attended Hill House School before entering Cheam School at age eight.[41] Charles spent five years at Cheam, from ages eight to thirteen.[41] Charles was then sent—over the objections of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother[42]—to Gordonstoun, a Scottish public school, becoming the first heir to the throne to sit for public examinations when he took his GCE O-levels at age sixteen, passing six.[41][43] Charles strongly disliked Gordonstoun, describing the school as "Colditz in kilts"[44][45] and his time there as a "disastrous" one.[43] Prince Charles entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1967, where he read history, archaeology and anthropology and graduated with a 2:2 degree in 1970.[41][43] This was the first time in history that a British monarch or heir to the throne had completed a university degree.[41]

text: Novelist Monica Ali described Charles's first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, as being able to engage with the public on issues such as mental health in spite of her being "uneducated and intellectually insecure".[46] Princess Michael of Kent has said that Diana struggled with praise on account of her difficult upbringing and because she "did not have much education".[47] According to tapes released in 2004, Diana had said that her immediate family members told her she was "the thick one".[48] Diana failed her O-level examinations (equivalent of a high school diploma in the United States[49]) and later dropped out of finishing school.[50] Journalist John Lanchester said that, while failure on Diana's scale would normally mean one was "astoundingly stupid", Diana had intentionally avoided academic pursuits as part of a master plan not to "put a royal suitor off".[51]

text: Anne, Princess Royal was tutored at home as a child by her governess Catherine Peebles, who had also taught Charles. At the age of 13, Anne was sent to Benenden School, a boarding school.[52] In 1968 she graduated with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels.[52]

text: Prince Andrew, Duke of York attended Gordonstoun.[53] He had no formal education beyond that, but completed a Royal Navy commissioning course at Britannia Royal Naval College and other courses during a military career.[54] Andrew's election to the Royal Society in 2013 prompted "Britain's leading scientists" to "revolt" due to Andrew's lack of scientific background, with some noting he had only a high-school level education.[55] In an op-ed in The Sunday Times, Humboldt Prize recipient David Colquhoun opined, in references to Andrew's qualifications, that "if I wanted a tip for the winner of the 14.30 at Newmarket, I'd ask a royal. For most other questions, I wouldn't".[55][56]

text: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, born in 1964, also went to private schools. In 1982, he left Gordonstoun with several A-levels. He enrolled for two terms at the Wanganui Collegiate School in Wanganui, New Zealand. There he also served as a house tutor and oversaw drama classes. In 1986, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jesus College, Cambridge.[57]

text: Charles's children[edit]

text: Prince William of Wales, Charles's eldest son and next in line to the throne, entered Eton College in 1995, becoming the first senior member of the royal family to attend Eton.[58] William graduated with A-levels in geography, biology and history of art as well as 12 GCSEs.[59] Following a gap year, William enrolled at St Andrews University in Fife, Scotland, where he graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 degree in geography.[59][60]

text: To prepare for eventually inheriting and taking over management of the Duchy of Cornwall estate (a "£760 million (about $1.25 billion) entity established in 1337 to provide a private income for use by the reigning monarch's eldest son") when his father becomes king, William enrolled in 2014 in a 10-week, vocational agriculture-management course through the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL), whose patron is the Prince of Wales.[61][62] William's admission to the program prompted some criticism from commentators who believed William had an unfair advantage, but criticism receded after observers noted that the program was a short, non-degree-granting executive education-type course that was customarily open to anyone willing to pay for it, without regard to past grades or academic records.[62][63][64]

text: William's younger brother Prince Harry also graduated from Eton; Harry does not have a university degree but completed ten months of officer commissioning training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[65][66][67]

text: In 2005 Sarah Forsyth, one of Harry's former teachers at Eton, said that Harry was a "weak student" and alleged that fellow staff had conspired to help him cheat on examinations. Her statement was related to a wrongful dismissal suit Forsyth filed alleging she had been fired for refusing to participate in the alleged cheating scheme.[68][69] Both Eton and Harry denied the claims.[68][69] While a tribunal made no ruling on the cheating claim, it "accepted the prince had received help in preparing his A-level 'expressive' project, which he needed to pass to secure his place at Sandhurst".[69] Eton paid £45,000 in damages to Forsyth over her dismissal.[70]

text: Prince Andrew's children[edit]

text: His daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, were noted in 2008 as having earned the best grades so far in the royal family in their A-levels, better than their father and uncle, and than their older cousins William and Harry.[30] Eugenie ranked first with her two As and a B in art, English literature, and history of art from Marlborough College.[30] Beatrice, who is dyslexic,[71] studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating in 2011 with a 2:1 degree in history and the history of ideas.[72] Eugenie studied at Newcastle University, graduating in 2012 with a 2:1 degree in English and history of art.[73]


document_title: African nations at the FIFA World Cup

question_text: first african country to play in fifa world cup

question_tokens: first african country to play in fifa world cup

text: African nations at the FIFA World Cup

text: Overview[edit]

text:
1930

(13)
1934

(16)
1938

(15)
1950

(13)
1954

(16)
1958

(16)
1962

(16)
1966

(16)
1970

(16)
1974

(16)
1978

(16)
1982

(24)
1986

(24)
1990

(24)
1994

(24)
1998

(32)
2002

(32)
2006

(32)
2010

(32)
2014

(32)
2018

(32)
2022

(32)
Total

Teams
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
5
5
5
6
5
5

44

Top 16
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2

10

Top 12
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
0
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

0

Top 8
—
0
0
—
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
—
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
0

3

Top 4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0

Top 2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0

1st

0

2nd

0

3rd

0

4th

0

tag: table

text:
Country
Participations
Years
Best result

 Cameroon
7
1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014
QF

 Nigeria
6
1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018
R2

 Morocco
5
1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018
R2

 Tunisia
5
1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018
R1

 Algeria
4
1982, 1986, 2010, 2014
R2

 Ivory Coast
3
2006, 2010, 2014
R1

 Egypt
3
1934, 1990, 2018
R1

 Ghana
3
2006, 2010, 2014
QF

 South Africa
3
1998, 2002, 2010
R1

 Senegal
2
2002, 2018
QF

 Zaire
1
1974
R1

 Angola
1
2006
R1

 Togo
1
2006
R1

text: Results[edit]

text: Team results by tournament[edit]

text:
1st — Champions
2nd — Runners-up
3rd — Third place
4th — Fourth place
QF — Quarterfinals (1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present: knockout round of 8)
R2 — Round 2 (1974–1978, second group stage, top 8; 1982: second group stage, top 12; 1986–present: knockout round of 16)
R1 — Round 1

Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
 ••  — Qualified but withdrew
 •  — Did not qualify
 ×  — Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
   — Hosts
    — Not affiliated in FIFA

text: The team ranking in each tournament is according to FIFA.[1] The rankings, apart from the top four positions (top two in 1930), are not a result of direct competition between the teams; instead, teams eliminated in the same round are ranked by their full results in the tournament. In recent tournaments, FIFA has used the rankings for seedings for the final tournament draw.[2]

text: For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

text:
Team
1930

(13)
1934

(16)
1938

(15)
1950

(13)
1954

(16)
1958

(16)
1962

(16)
1966

(16)
1970

(16)
1974

(16)
1978

(16)
1982

(24)
1986

(24)
1990

(24)
1994

(24)
1998

(32)
2002

(32)
2006

(32)
2010

(32)
2014

(32)
2018

(32)
2022

(32)
Total
Qual.
Comp.

 Algeria
Part of France[3]
×
•
•
•
R1
13th
R1
22nd
•
•
•
•
•
R1
28th
R2
14th
•

4
13

 Angola
Part of Portugal
×
•
•
•
•
•
R1
23rd
•
•
•

1
9

 Cameroon
Part of France
×
×
•
•
•
R1
17th
•
QF
7th
R1
22nd
R1
25th
R1
20th
•
R1
31st
R1
32nd
•

7
13

 DR Congo[4]
Part of Belgium
×
×
R1
16th
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1
11

 Egypt
×
R1
13th
×
×
•
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
R1
20th
•
•
•
•
•
•
Q

3
14

 Ghana
Part of the United Kingdom
×
•
×
•
•
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
R2
13th
QF
7th
R1
25th
•

3
13

 Ivory Coast
Part of France
×
×
×
•
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
R1
19th
R1
17th
R1
21st
•

3
11

 Morocco
Part of France
•
×
R1
14th
•
•
•
R2
11th
•
R1
23rd
R1
18th
•
•
•
•
Q

5
14

 Nigeria
Part of the United Kingdom
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
R2
9th
R2
12th
R1
27th
•
R1
27th
R2
16th
Q

6
14

 Senegal
Part of France
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
×
•
•
QF
7th
•
•
•
Q

2
11

 South Africa

×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
•
R1
24th
R1
17th
•
R1
20th
•
•

3
7

 Togo
Part of France
×
×
×
•
•
•
×
×
•
•
•
R1
30th
•
•
•

1
10

 Tunisia
Part of France
•
×
•
•
R1
9th
•
•
•
•
R1
26th
R1
29th
R1
24th
•
•
Q

5
14

 Zaire
see Congo DR (1974–1994)[4]

text: Tournament standings[edit]

text:
Team
Champions
Finals
Semifinals
Quarterfinals
2nd Round

 Ghana
0
0
0
1
2

 Cameroon
0
0
0
1
1

 Senegal
0
0
0
1
1

 Nigeria
0
0
0
0
3

 Algeria
0
0
0
0
1

 Morocco
0
0
0
0
1

text:
Quarterfinals = knockout round of 8: 1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present; second group stage, top 8: 1974–1978
2nd Round = second group stage, top 12: 1982; knockout round of 16: 1986–present

tag: ul

text: Overall team records[edit]

text: As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. 3 points per win, 1 point per draw and 0 points per loss.

text: As of Jul 01, 2014.

text:
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
Goal +/-
Points
Topscorers

 Cameroon
23
4
7
12
18
43
-25
19
R. Milla 5
S. Eto'o 3
P. M'Boma 2
F. Omam-Biyik 2

 Nigeria
18
5
3
10
20
26
-6
18
D. Amokachi 2
E. Amunike 2
A. Musa 2
K. Uche 2

 Ghana
12
4
3
5
13
16
-3
15
A. Gyan 6
S. Muntari 2

 Algeria
13
3
3
7
13
19
-6
12
S. Assad 2
A. Djabou 2
I. Slimani 2

 Ivory Coast
9
3
1
5
13
14
-1
10
W. Bony 2
A. Dindane 2
D. Drogba 2
Gervinho 2

 South Africa
9
2
4
3
11
16
-5
10
S. Bartlett 2
B. McCarthy 2

 Morocco
13
2
4
7
12
18
-6
10
A. Hadda 2
A. Khairi 2
S. Bassir 2

 Senegal
5
2
2
1
7
6
+1
8
P. Bouba Diop 3

 Tunisia
12
1
4
7
8
17
-9
7
R. Bouzaiene 1
M. Dhouib 1
N. Ghommidh 1
R. Jaidi 1
Z. Jaziri 1
A. Kaabi 1
J. Mnari 1
S. Souayah 1

 Angola
3
0
2
1
1
2
-1
2
A. Flavio 1

 Egypt
4
0
2
2
3
6
-3
2
A. Fawzi 2

 Togo
3
0
0
3
1
6
-5
0
M. Kader 1

 Zaire (1971–1997)
3
0
0
3
0
14
-14
0

text: Appearances[edit]

text: Ranking of teams by number of appearances[edit]

text:
Team
Appearances
Record streak
Active streak
Debut
Most recent
Best result (* = hosts)

 Cameroon
7
4
0
1982
2014
5 !Quarterfinals (1990)

 Nigeria
6
3
3
1994
2018
6 !Round 2 (1994, 1998, 2014)

 Morocco
5
2
1
1970
2018
6 !Round 2 (1986)

 Tunisia
5
3
1
1978
2018
7 !Round 1

 Algeria
4
2
0
1982
2014
7 !Round 2 (2014)

 Ghana
3
3
0
2006
2014
5 !Quarterfinals (2010)

 Ivory Coast
3
3
0
2006
2014
7 !Round 1

 Egypt
3
1
1
1934
2018
7 !Round 1

 South Africa
3
2
0
1998
2010
7 !Round 1

 Senegal
2
1
1
2002
2018
5 !Quarterfinals (2002)

 DR Congo[4]
1
1
0
1974
1974
7 !Round 1

 Angola
1
1
0
2006
2006
7 !Round 1

 Togo
1
1
0
2006
2006
7 !Round 1

text: Debut of teams[edit]

text: Each successive World Cup has had at least one team appearing for the first time. This table shows the national associations in alphabetical order per year.

text:
Year
Debutants
Total

1930

0

1934
 Egypt
1

1938

0

1950

0

1954

0

1958

0

1962

0

1966

0

1970
 Morocco
1

1974
 Zaire[4]
1

1978
 Tunisia
1

1982
 Algeria,  Cameroon
2

1986

0

1990

0

1994
 Nigeria
1

1998
 South Africa
1

2002
 Senegal
1

2006
 Angola,  Ghana,  Ivory Coast,  Togo
4

2010

0

2014

0

2018

0

Total

13

text: Not qualified[edit]

text: 41 of the 54 active FIFA and CAF members have never qualified for the final tournament.

text:
•  — Did not qualify
 ×  — Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
    — Not affiliated in FIFA

text:
Country
Number of
Qualifying
attempts
1930

1934

1938

1950

1954

1958

1962

1966

1970

1974

1978

1982

1986

1990

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

2014

2018

 Zambia
13
part of the United Kingdom
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Guinea
12
part of France
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Kenya
12
part of the United Kingdom
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Ethiopia
11

×
×
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
×
•
×
•
•
×
•
•

 Sudan
11

×
×
×
×
×
•
•
×
•
•
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Burkina Faso
10
part of France

×
•
•
•
×
×
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Malawi
10
part of the United Kingdom

×
×
•
•
•
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Sierra Leone
10
part of the United Kingdom
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Uganda
10

×
×
×
×
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Zimbabwe
10

×
•
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
×

member of AFC

 Congo
9

×
×
•
•
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Liberia
9

×
×
×
×
•
•
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Madagascar
9

×
×
×
×
•
•
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Tanzania
9

×
×
•
×
•
•
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Benin
8

×
×
•
×
×
•
×
•
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Gabon
8

×
×
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Gambia
8

×
×
×
•
•
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Libya
8
part of Italy

×
•
×
•
×
•
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Mozambique
8
part of Portugal

•
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Lesotho
7

×
×
•
×
•
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Mauritius
7

×
×
•
×
×
•
×
×
•
•
•
•
×
•

 Namibia
7

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Niger
7

×
×
•
•
×
×
•
×
×
•
•
•
•

 Swaziland
7

×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Botswana
6

×
×
×
•
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Guinea-Bissau
6

×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Mauritania
6
part of Italy
×
×
×
×
•
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
×
•

 Rwanda
6

×
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•
•

 Somalia
6
part of Italy & UK
×
×
×
×
×
•
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Burundi
5

×
×
×
×
×
•
×
×
•
•
•
•

 Cape Verde
5

×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Chad
5

×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Equatorial Guinea
5

×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Mali
5

×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Seychelles
5

×
×
×
•
•
•
•
•

 Djibouti
4
part of France

×
•
×
•
•
•

 Eritrea
4
part of Ethiopia

•
•
×
•
•

 São Tomé and Príncipe
4

×
×
×
•
•
×
•
•

 Comoros
3
part of France

×
•
•
•

 Central African Republic
2

×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
•
•

 South Sudan
1
part of Sudan
×
•

text: Summary of performance[edit]

text: This table shows for each world cup the number of countries at the World Cup, the number of entries (#E) from around the world (including any rejections and withdrawals), the number of African entries (#A), how many of those African entries withdrew (#A-) before/during qualification or were rejected by FIFA, the African representatives at the World Cup finals, the number of World Cup Qualifiers each African representative had to play to get to the World Cup (#WCQ), the furthest stage they reached, their results, and their coaches.

text:
Year
Host
Size
#E
#A
#A-
African
finalists
#WCQ
Stage
Results
Coach

1930
Uruguay
13
13
0
0
-

1934
Italy
16
32
1
0
 Egypt
2
R1
lost 2-4  Hungary
 James McRea

1938
France
15
37
1
1[5]
-

1950
Brazil
13
34
0
0
-

1954
Switzerland
16
45
1
0
-

1958
Sweden
16
56
3
3[6]
-

1962
Chile
16
56
7
2[7]
-

1966
England
16
74
17
17[8]
Boycott

1970
Mexico
16
75
14
2[9]
 Morocco
10
R1
lost 1-2  West Germany, lost 0-3  Peru, drew 1-1  Bulgaria
 Blagoje Vidinić

1974
West Germany
16
99
24
2[10]
 Zaire
10
R1
lost 0-2  Scotland, lost 0-9  Yugoslavia, lost 0-3  Brazil
 Blagoje Vidinić

1978
Argentina
16
107
26
4[11]
 Tunisia
10
R1
won 3-1  Mexico, lost 0-1  Poland, drew 0-0  West Germany
Abdelmajid Chetali

1982
Spain
24
109
29
4[12]
 Algeria
8
R1
won 2-1  West Germany, lost 0-2  Austria, won 3-2  Chile
 Mahieddine Khalef
 Rachid Mekhloufi

 Cameroon
8
R1
drew 0-0  Peru, drew 0-0  Poland, drew 1-1  Italy
Jean Vincent

1986
Mexico
24
121
29
3[13]
 Algeria
6
R1
drew 1-1  Northern Ireland, lost 0-1  Brazil, lost 0-3  Spain
 Rabah Saâdane

 Morocco
8
R2
drew 0-0  Poland, drew 0-0  England, win 3-1  Portugal
R2: lost 0-1  West Germany
José Faria

1990
Italy
24
116
26
5[14]
 Cameroon
8
QF
won 1-0  Argentina, won 2-1  Romania, lost 0-4  Soviet Union
R2: won 2-1  Colombia, QF: lost 2-3 (a.e.t.)  England
 Valeri Nepomniachi

 Egypt
8
R1
drew 1-1  Netherlands, drew 0-0  Republic of Ireland, lost 0-1  England
 Mahmoud El-Gohary

1994
U.S.
24
147
40
12[15]
 Cameroon
8
R1
drew 2-2  Sweden, lost 0-3  Brazil, lost 1-6  Russia
 Henri Michel

 Morocco
10
R1
lost 0-1  Belgium, lost 1-2  Saudi Arabia, lost 1-2  Netherlands
 Abdellah Blinda

 Nigeria
8
R2
won 3-0  Bulgaria, lost 1-2  Argentina, won 2-0  Greece
R2: lost 1-2 (a.e.t.)  Italy
 Clemens Westerhof

1998
France
32
174
38
3[16]
 Cameroon
6
R1
drew 1-1  Austria, lost 0-3  Italy, drew 1-1  Chile
 Claude Le Roy

 Morocco
6
R1
drew 2-2  Norway, lost 0-3  Brazil, won 3-0  Scotland
 Henri Michel

 Nigeria
6
R2
won 3-2  Spain, won 1-0  Bulgaria, lost 1-3  Paraguay
R2: lost 1-4  Denmark
 Bora Milutinovic

 South Africa
8
R1
lost 0-3  France, drew 1-1  Denmark, drew 2-2  Saudi Arabia
 Philippe Troussier

 Tunisia
8
R1
lost 0-2  England, lost 0-1  Colombia, drew 1-1  Romania
 Henryk Kasperczak

2002
South Korea
and Japan
32
199
51
2[17]
 Cameroon
10
R1
drew 1-1  Republic of Ireland, won 1-0  Saudi Arabia, lost 0-2  Germany
 Winfried Schäfer

 Nigeria
10
R1
lost 0-1  Argentina, lost 1-2  Sweden, drew 0-0  England
 Festus Onigbinde

 South Africa
8
R1
drew 2-2  Paraguay, won 1-0  Slovenia, lost 2-3  Spain
 Jomo Sono

 Senegal
10
QF
won 1-0  France, drew 1-1  Denmark, drew 3-3  Uruguay
R2: won 2-1 (a.e.t.)  Sweden, QF: lost 0-1 (a.e.t.)  Turkey
 Bruno Metsu

 Tunisia
10
R1
lost 0-2  Russia, drew 1-1  Belgium, lost 0-2  Japan
 Ammar Souayah

2006
Germany
32
197
51
1[18]
 Angola
12
R1
lost 0-1  Portugal, drew 0-0  Mexico, drew 1-1  Iran
 Luís Oliveira Gonçalves

 Ivory Coast
10
R1
lost 1-2  Argentina, lost 1-2  Netherlands, won 3-2  Serbia and Montenegro
 Henri Michel

 Ghana
12
R2
lost 0-2  Italy, won 2-0  Czech Republic, won 2-1  United States
R2: lost 0-3  Brazil
 Ratomir Dujković

 Togo
12
R1
lost 1-2  South Korea, lost 0-2   Switzerland, lost 0-2  France
 Otto Pfister

 Tunisia
10
R1
drew 2-2  Saudi Arabia, lost 1-3  Spain, lost 0-1  Ukraine
 Roger Lemerre

2010
South Africa
32
204
53
4[19]
 Algeria
13
R1
lost 0-1  Slovenia, drew 0-0  England, lost 0-1  United States
 Rabah Saâdane

 Cameroon
12
R1
lost 0-1  Japan, lost 1-2  Denmark, lost 1-2  Netherlands
 Paul Le Guen

 Ivory Coast
12
R1
drew 0-0  Portugal, lost 1-3  Brazil, won 3-0  North Korea
 Sven-Göran Eriksson

 Ghana
12
QF
won 1-0  Serbia, drew 1-1  Australia, lost 0-1  Germany
R2: won 2-1 (a.e.t.)  United States, QF: drew 1-1 (2-4 p.s.o.)  Uruguay
 Milovan Rajevac

 Nigeria
12
R1
lost 0-1  Argentina, lost 1-2  Greece, drew 2-2  South Korea
 Lars Lagerbäck

 South Africa
host
R1
drew 1-1  Mexico, lost 0-3  Uruguay, won 2-1  France
 Carlos Alberto Parreira

2014
Brazil
32
203
53
1[20]

 Algeria

R2
lost 1-2  Belgium, won 4-2  South Korea, drew 1-1  Russia
R2: lost 1-2 (a.e.t.)  Germany
 Vahid Halilhodžić

 Cameroon

R1
lost 0-1  Mexico, lost 0-4  Croatia, lost 1-4  Brazil
 Volker Finke

 Ivory Coast

R1
won 2-1  Japan, lost 1-2  Colombia, lost 1-2  Greece
 Sabri Lamouchi

 Ghana

R1
lost 1-2  United States, drew 2-2  Germany, lost 1-2  Portugal
 James Kwesi Appiah

 Nigeria

R2
drew 0-0  Iran, won 1-0  Bosnia and Herzegovina, lost 2-3  Argentina
R2: lost 0-2  France
 Stephen Keshi

text: Performance at individual World Cups[edit]

text: 1930s: Egypt's early appearance[edit]

text: The inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup was the only one without any qualification process. No African teams entered.

text: The Pharaohs of Egypt were the only African team to apply to feature at the 1934 FIFA World Cup. As there were 32 countries competing for 16 places, FIFA organized the first qualification round. Egypt was placed in a group with Turkey and Palestine,[21] then a British mandate. Turkey withdrew, and Egypt beat Palestine 7-1 in Cairo and 4-1 in Jerusalem to qualify for the World Cup finals. The 1934 FIFA World Cup finals was organized as a straight knock-out. Egypt lost 2-4 to Hungary in Naples[22] with Abdulrahman Fawzi scoring twice to become the first African to score at the World Cup finals. However, a third goal by Fawzi was ruled offside by the Italian referee despite the player having dribbled from the middle of the pitch, and the fourth Hungarian goal involved a scuffle where the Hungarian striker broke the Egyptian goalkeeper's nose with his elbow. The Italian newspapers heavily criticized their referee, but Egypt sailed home and only returned to the World Cup finals 56 years later.[23]

text: 1938-1966: World Cup without Africa[edit]

text: Egypt was the only African country to apply to compete at the 1938 FIFA World Cup, but withdrew before playing any matches.

text: No African countries applied to compete at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

text: Egypt was the only African country to apply to compete at the 1954 World Cup. They were placed in a two-team group with Italy, but lost 1-2 in Cairo and 1-5 in Milan, and thus did not qualify for the World Cup.

text: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan all applied to enter the qualification process for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but Ethiopia's entry was rejected by FIFA.

text: Egypt and Sudan competed in an Africa/Asia zone with ten Asian countries for one spot at the World Cup. Egypt progressed to the next round after Cyprus withdrew, but then itself withdrew. Sudan defeated Syria 2-1 on aggregate but eventually withdrew in protest at having to play Israel. (Eventually, the spot originally reserved for Africa and Asia was taken by Wales.[24])

text: Seven African countries entered the qualification process for the 1962 FIFA World Cup : Ghana, United Arab Republic (a joint football association by Egypt and Syria, who were politically united between 1958 and 1961), Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia. Ethiopia entered through the UEFA qualification process, where it was eliminated by Israel, while the rest entered through the CAF qualification process. Both Sudan and U.A.R. withdrew as FIFA would not allow them to rearrange matches to avoid the monsoon season, so the four teams formed two two-team groups. In the first group, Morocco and Tunisia both beat each other 2-1 at home, and then played a third match at a neutral location (Palermo, Italy) which ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time. Since penalty shootouts were not used by FIFA till the 1970s, Morocco advanced by drawing lots[25] to eliminate Tunisia. Morocco then eliminated Ghana with a draw and a win to proceed to a UEFA/CAF playoff with Spain. They lost both legs of this playoff, meaning that no African nation made it to the World Cup finals for the fifth time in a row.

text: Seventeen African countries entered the qualification process for the 1966 FIFA World Cup : Algeria, Cameroon, French Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Tunisia. FIFA rejected the application of French Congo, and had already suspended South Africa for apartheid, resulting in their disqualification.

text: FIFA's allocation of only one place to three continents (Africa, Asia, Oceania) was subject to significant criticism, especially given the large increase in applications from newly independent African countries. After FIFA confirmed the allocation, the remaining fifteen African nations withdrew in protest.[26]

text: 1970: Morocco returns Africa to the World Cup[edit]

text: Fourteen African countries entered the qualification process for the 1970 World Cup : Algeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rhodesia, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Zaire, and Zambia. FIFA rejected the applications of Guinea and Zaire. The Atlas Lions of Morocco played ten matches to qualify for the single CAF spot at the World Cup, advancing along the way past Tunisia by virtue of a coin toss.[25]

text: Rhodesia, having been expelled from CAF for having a white minority government, entered through the Asia/Oceania qualifying group, where they had to play against Australia in Portuguese-held Mozambique (there was a boycott against playing matches in Rhodesia). The first two matches were drawn, thanks in large part to the excellent Rhodesian goalkeeper Robin Jordan,[27] and the desperate Australians hired a Mozambican sangoma to 'curse' him. In the third match, Jordan was taken off injured after a collision with another player, Australia won 3–1, then refused to pay the sangoma, got 'cursed' by the irate man, and were eliminated two weeks later by Israel.[28] Meanwhile, Rhodesia's CAF expulsion was soon followed by a FIFA expulsion, with Zimbabwe readmitted in 1980.

text: At the 1970 World Cup, Morocco was placed in Group 4 along with West Germany, Peru, and Bulgaria. They lost 1–2 to eventual semi-finalists West Germany, lost 0–3 to Peru, and drew 1–1 with Bulgaria. The two goalscorers were Houmane Jarir (against West Germany) and Maouhoub Ghazouani (against Bulgaria), who were thus the second and third ever African goalscorers at the World Cup. Morocco finished bottom of the group, on goal difference, with one point - the first African point in the World Cup.

text: 1974: Zaire makes an impression[edit]

text: 24 African countries entered the qualification process for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, with the Leopards of Zaire eventually qualifying quite comfortably, scoring 18 goals and conceding 5 in the ten matches they played to qualify.[29]

text: At the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Zaire were placed in Group 2 along with Scotland, Yugoslavia (home of Zaire coach and 1970 Morocco coach Blagoje Vidinić), and Brazil. In their first match against Scotland, they impressed with their fast attacking style, and lost just 0-2. Scottish centre-half Jim Holton said after the match "Let's face it, we underestimated them. For fifteen minutes I wondered what the hell was going on, where the devil had this lot come from, playing stuff like that!"[30]

text: The next opponents Yugoslavia had noted holes in the Zairean defence, and fully exploited them to hammer Zaire 9-0 in a then record win for World Cup finals, with all but three of their outfield players getting on the scoresheet.[31] Zaire striker Mulamba Ndaye, who was sent off for protesting that a goal by the Yugoslavians was offside, said after the match, "The management had made off with our match bonuses, and we'd threatened not to play the game. Frankly we'd lost our morale. We could easily have let in 20 goals."

text: After the defeat, the Zairean team were told by the country's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko - who had rewarded the players for qualifying with a house and a car each - not to come home if defending champions Brazil beat them 4-0 or worse.[32] Zaire managed to keep Brazil to merely a 0-3 defeat, with Zairean defender Mwepu Ilunga receiving a yellow card for interfering with a free kick.[33] Zaire left the tournament without scoring a goal.

text: 1978: Tunisia becomes first African team to win at the World Cup[edit]

text: 26 African countries entered the qualification process for 1 spot at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. In comparison, 22 Asia/Oceania countries also competed for 1 spot, while 31 European countries competed for 8.5 spots. Les Aigles de Carthage (The Carthage Eagles) of Tunisia eventually qualified, along the way eliminating Morocco in the first ever penalty shootout in World Cup qualification history.[26] This was a major change for Tunisia, who had been eliminated by Morocco quite literally by chance on three previous occasions[25] in the 1960s.

text: Tunisia were placed in Group 2 with West Germany, Poland, and Mexico. After Zaire's fate in 1974, they were not expected to do well. They were 0-1 down to Mexico at half-time when their Tunisian coach Abdelmajid Chetali told them that they treated their opponents with too much respect, and that they could still win the game if they tackled hard and imposed their belief and self-confidence.[34] Buoyed by the pep talk, the North Africans scored thrice in the second half to win 3-1 and become the first African team to win a match at the World Cup. They lost their next match to Poland 1-0, missing several chances, and held West Germany to a goalless draw. While this was not enough to progress to the next round, African football pride had been restored.

text: 1982: Algeria wins twice but eliminated[edit]

text: This was the first World Cup with 24 teams, and Africa's representation was doubled. So 29 African countries competed for 2 spots in World Cup qualification. In comparison, 21 Asian nations also competed for 2 spots, but 33 European nations competed for 13 spots. 1978 finalists Tunisia were eliminated in the first round by Nigeria on penalties. Four series of knockout rounds were played, with the final two spots going down to Nigeria vs Algeria, and Morocco vs Cameroon. Both Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes) of Algeria and Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions) of Cameroon won 2-0 away and 2-1 at home and qualified for the World Cup.

text: Cameroon were placed in Group 1, where they surprised everyone by remaining undefeated. They drew 0-0 with Peru, 0-0 with Poland, and 1-1 with Italy. Grégoire Mbida scored Cameroon's first World Cup finals goal. Italy had also drawn its three matches, so also had a goal difference of 0, but had scored two goals to Cameroon's one, so Cameroon were eliminated. This was especially painful because in their opening match against Peru, Cameroon striker Roger Milla had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside.

text: Algeria were placed in Group 2 with West Germany, Austria, and Chile. The Africans produced a major upset in the first match, beating West Germany 2-1 with goals by Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi. They lost their second match 0-2 to Austria, then produced another surprise by beating Chile 3-2. The day after the Algeria vs Chile match, West Germany and Austria played the final group match in Gijón knowing that a 1-0 or 2-0 win for West Germany would result in both European teams qualifying at the expense of Algeria on goal difference. West Germany scored after ten minutes, and then both teams appeared to pass the ball aimlessly around for the remaining 80 minutes.

text: This performance was widely deplored by all observers. The Spanish crowd shouted, "Fuera, fuera!" ("Out, out!") while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players to suggest that the game was fixed. Even the two sides' fans were disgusted, with an Austrian television commentator advising viewers to turn off their TV sets, a German television commentator refusing to commentate further, and a German fan burning his national flag in protest. Furious Algerian football officials lodged an official protest, but the two teams denied any collusion. As nothing could be proved and the two teams had technically broken no rules, FIFA allowed the result to stand. FIFA did change the rules - in future World Cups, the final two games in each group are played simultaneously.[35] Thus Algeria were eliminated from the 1982 FIFA World Cup at the first hurdle despite two wins.

text: 1986: Morocco becomes first African team into the Round of 16[edit]

text: As with 1982, 29 African countries entered the qualification process for two spots at the World Cup. There were four series of knockout rounds, with four Mediterranean countries making the final round. Algeria beat neighbours Tunisia 7-1 on aggregate and becomes the first African team to qualify consecutively for the second time to World Cup. Morocco beat Libya 3-1 on aggregate and qualify for their second World Cups.

text: Algeria were placed in Group D with Brazil, Spain, and Northern Ireland. They did not reach the heights of its previous finals appearance, drawing 1-1 with Northern Ireland, losing 0-1 to Brazil, and losing 0-3 to Spain.

text: Morocco shocked both Poland and England with goalless draws, and then defeated Portugal 3-1 to become the first African team to progress beyond the first round. In the second round, they faced a West German side that had seven survivors from the Shame of Gijón match.[36][37] Goalkeeper Badou Zaki kept Morocco in the game with a series of excellent saves, but was finally beaten in the 87th minute by Disgrace of Gijón substitute Lothar Matthäus. West Germany won 1-0 and went on to reach their second successive final.

text: 1990: Cameroon's Indomitable Lions reach the Quarter Finals[edit]

text: 26 African countries entered the qualification process for 2 spots at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. This was the first time African qualification moved from a mostly straight home-away knockout format to include group stages early on. Finally it came down to four teams playing in two playoffs for the final: Algeria vs Egypt and Tunisia vs Cameroon. Cameroon beat Tunisia 2-0 at home and 1-0 away, and qualified for their second World Cup. However, the playoff between the two North African sides was significantly more ill-tempered.

text: After a goalless draw in Constantine, Egypt beat Algeria 1-0 in Cairo to qualify for the World Cup. After the Cairo match, an Algerian player gouged out an Egyptian team doctor's eye with a broken bottle. The player blamed, Lakhdar Belloumi (who scored the winning goal in Algeria's 2-1 defeat of West Germany in 1982[38]), was not allowed to travel outside Algeria owing to an Interpol international arrest warrant for twenty years till the (financially compensated) Egyptian doctor dropped the charges in 2009.[39] Belloumi always claimed innocence in the incident, with him and other players pointing the finger at Algerian goalkeeper Kamel Kadri instead.[40]

text: There was tragedy during the second round Group C match between Nigeria and Angola on 12 August 1989 at the Lagos National Stadium when 24-year-old Nigerian midfielder (and qualified lawyer) Samuel Okwaraji collapsed and died of congestive heart failure in the 77th minute.[41][42]

text: Egypt were placed in Group F with England, Netherlands, and Ireland. It turned out to be one of the tightest groups in World Cup history, with five draws in six games. Egypt drew 1-1 with the Netherlands, drew 0-0 with Ireland, but lost their final match 0-1 to England. Egypt's only goal of the tournament was a penalty by Magdi Abdelghani against the Netherlands. Egypt were thus eliminated from World Cup, still without a win after losing their only match in 1930.

text: Cameroon were undoubtedly the surprise package of the tournament. In their first match, they shocked Diego Maradona's defending champions Argentina 1-0 through a goal by François Omam-Biyik, despite finishing their match with nine men. In their next match, they defeated Romania 2-1 thanks to two goals from 38-year-old substitute Roger Milla. These were Milla's first official goals in the World Cup; he had had a goal against Peru wrongly disallowed for offside during the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Having already qualified for the next round, Cameroon then suffered their first loss (after three draws and two wins) in World Cup history, losing 0-4 to the Soviet Union. In the second round, Cameroon defeated Colombia 2-1, with Milla again coming on as a second-half substitute to score twice, famously dispossessing Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita for one of them. By this time, Roger Milla, his post-goal celebrations, and Cameroon had firmly implanted themselves in the global footballing consciousness. In the quarter finals, they were seven minutes from qualifying for the semi-finals when England were awarded a penalty. England won the match 3-2 after extra time, with three of the five goals coming from penalties (1 for Cameroon, 2 for England).

text: 1994: Zambian air tragedy, Nigeria reaches Round of 16[edit]

text: 40 African countries entered the qualification process for 3 spots at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The extra spot was awarded after the strong performances of Cameroon and Egypt at Italia 90. However, only 28 played all their matches after FIFA rejected Libya (due to UN sanctions) and 11 other nations withdrew at various stages. There was a new qualification format, with two group stages. The big casualty of the first stage was 1990 finalists Egypt, as crowd trouble in Cairo turned a 2-1 home victory over Zimbabwe into a crucial 0-0 draw when FIFA ordered the match replayed at a neutral location.

text: In the new second stage of qualification were three groups of three, with winners qualifying for the World Cup. The Super Eagles of Nigeria won Group A on goal difference, beating both Côte d'Ivoire and Algeria 4-1 in Lagos. In Group C, Cameroon won the group with 3 wins and a loss away to second placed Zimbabwe, with Guinea coming third.

text: In Group B were Morocco, Senegal, and Zambia. In the first match, Morocco beat Senegal 1-0. In the second match, Zambia were to face Senegal in Dakar. However, the plane carrying the Zambian team crashed en route on 28 April 1993. The crash, attributed to mechanical problems and pilot error, killed all thirty people on board, including nearly the entire football team - 18 players - and coaches, support staff, and plane crew. (The Zambian government had yet to release a report on the investigation of the crash of the military plane even ten years later.[43][44]) Only two European-based players from the original squad missed the flight - Charles Musonda of Anderlecht, who was injured, and captain Kalusha Bwalya,[45] who was flying in from Europe where he played with PSV Eindhoven. All matches in the group were postponed for a month. Zambia hastily put together a new team, captained by Bwalya, and defeated Morocco 2-1 in Lusaka in the first match with the new team with goals from Kalusha Bwalya and Johnson Bwalya (not related). However, they lost their final group match 0-1 to Morocco in Casablanca and Morocco won Group B by one point. Amazingly, the rebuilt Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) also went on to reach the finals of the 1994 African Cup of Nations.

text: At the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals in the U.S., Cameroon drew their first game in Group B with eventual semi-finalists Sweden 2-2 and lost their second to eventual winners Brazil 0-3. They were 0-3 down to Russia in their third match when half-time substitute Roger Milla scored in the 46th minute (becoming at 42 the oldest man ever to score at the World Cup finals) and sparked brief hopes of a miracle comeback. However, the final score was a 1-6 loss to Russia, with Oleg Salenko netting a record-breaking five goals in vain. In Group F, Morocco lost its three matches by a goal each, 0-1 to Belgium, 1-2 to Saudi Arabia, and 1-2 to the Netherlands.

text: In Group D, Nigeria thumped eventual semi-finalists Bulgaria 3-0, then fell to a 1-2 loss to Argentina before beating Greece 2-0. Nigeria, Bulgaria, and Argentina all finished on six points and qualified for the second round. In the second round, Nigeria faced Italy. Emmanuel Amuneke scored in the 25th minute, leaving Nigeria with a 1-0 lead two minutes from the next round when Roberto Baggio scored in the 88th minute. Baggio scored again in extra time to send Nigeria home.

text: This was the third successive World Cup where an African team progressed beyond the first stage, after Morocco in 1986 and Cameroon in 1990. This was a major factor in FIFA increasing Africa's allocation from 3 to 5 spots as the World Cup expanded from 24 to 32 four years later.

text: 1998: Nigeria reaches the Round of 16 again[edit]

text: 38 African countries entered the qualification process for 5 spots at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. This was the first time that three points, instead of two, were awarded for a win. Burundi won both their first round qualification matches but then had to withdraw due to civil war. Sierra Leone, who they had just eliminated, took their place in the second round, and then became the first nation in World Cup qualifying history to be eliminated twice in the same qualifying campaign.[26] Eventually, Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, and Tunisia qualified for the World Cup finals along with newcomers Bafana Bafana of South Africa, who had only been readmitted to FIFA in 1992.

text: The five African teams all took European coaches (three Frenchman, one Serb, one Pole) to the finals, making it the first time since 1974 that there was no African coach at the World Cup.[46]

text: In Group A, Morocco drew their first match 2-2 with Norway and then lost 0-3 to Brazil. The last two matches in the group were played simultaneously (as they had after the Disgrace of Gijón in 1982) - with ten minutes left, Morocco were leading Scotland 2-0 while Brazil led Norway 1-0. But Norway scored twice in the 83rd and 88th minutes to beat Brazil 2-1.[47] Morocco also scored once more to beat Scotland 3-0, but went home.

text: In Group B, Cameroon drew their first match 1-1 with Austria (the Austrians equalizing in the 90th minute) but then lost 0-3 to Italy. Cameroon could have progressed if they won their final group match against Chile, but they drew 1-1 and went home. During the final match, Cameroon's Rigobert Song became the first man to pick up red cards at two World Cups - he was sent off as a 17-year-old against Brazil in 1994. (The second man to be red carded at two World Cups would be Zinedine Zidane eight years later.)

text: In Group C, South Africa began their debut World Cup finals campaign with a 0-3 loss to hosts and eventual champions France. They then drew 1-1 with Denmark, Benni McCarthy scoring their first World Cup finals goal. They needed to win big in their final match against Saudi Arabia but could only manage a 2-2 draw, giving away two penalties and only managing to equalize late into injury time with their own penalty, taken by brace-scorer Shaun Bartlett.

text: In Group D, Nigeria opened with a 3-2 win over fancied Spain and another 1-0 win over Bulgaria. Having qualified for the next stage, they then lost 1-3 to Paraguay. Both Nigeria and Paraguay qualified for the next stage, with Spain losing out despite thumping Bulgaria 6-1. However, in the Round of 16, Nigeria were beaten 1-4 by Denmark. All Nigeria's six goals in the tournament came from six different players.[48]

text: In Group G, Tunisia lost their first two matches 0-2 to England and 0-1 to Colombia. They then managed to draw 1-1 with Romania, who had won their first two matches and topped the group. Thus Tunisia's second appearance at the World Cup (after 1978) ended in them scoring only one goal, a penalty.

text: Thus only 2 of Africa's 5 representatives came away with at least one win. However, there was an African representative in the second round for the fourth time in succession.

text: 2002: Senegal reaches the quarter finals[edit]

text: 51 African countries entered the qualification process for five spots at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Four of the five 1998 finalists again made it through, with Les Lions de la Teranga (Teranga Lions[49]) of Senegal replacing Morocco. Senegal and Morocco topped the same qualification group each with four wins, three draws, and a loss, but Senegal had a seven-goal superior goal difference thanks to their 9–0 aggregate thrashings of group minnows Namibia. In contrast, the Namibians had managed to hold Morocco to a goalless draw in Windhoek.

text: Like Cameroon 12 years earlier, Senegal started with a shock 1-0 win over the defending champions and went on to reach the quarter finals. In Group A, after beating France 1-0 with a goal from Papa Bouba Diop, they drew 1-1 with eventual group winners Denmark. In their final match against Uruguay, they were leading 3-0 at half-time. In the second half, the South Americans - for whom a win would have them progress at Senegal's expense - scored twice, and then a third time with an 88th-minute penalty kick. Senegal survived the frenetic final minutes of the game to hang on to a 3-3 result. Thus and Senegal progressed to the next round while former champions Uruguay and France went home. In the Round of 16, a golden goal in extra time (to add to his 37th-minute strike) from Henri Camara took Senegal 2-1 past Sweden after extra time. But in the quarter-finals against Turkey, they were eliminated by a golden goal four minutes into extra time.

text: In Group B, South Africa drew 2-2 with Paraguay with an injury time penalty, then scored their first ever World Cup win by beating Slovenia 1-0. However a 2-3 loss to Spain then sent South Africa home. In Group E, Cameroon drew 1-1 with Republic of Ireland, beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, and then lost 0-2 to Germany. In Group F, Nigeria lost 0-1 to Argentina, lost 1-2 to Sweden, and having been eliminated, held England to a 0-0 draw. In Group H, Tunisia lost 0-2 to Russia, drew 1-1 with Belgium, and lost 0-2 to co-hosts Japan.

text: Of Africa's five representatives, three won at least once, but only one progressed beyond the first round. Still, Senegal's surprise run made it the fifth successive time an African nation had made it to the Round of 16, and the second time an African country had reached the quarter finals. Three of the five African nations (South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia) took a local coach to the World Cup; only one of those three scored a win.

text: 2006: Ghana reaches the Round of 16[edit]

text: 51 African countries entered the race for 5 spots at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in a qualification process that doubled as one for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. In the final qualification round, teams were organized into five groups of six teams, with winners qualifying for the World Cup and the top three for the continental tournament. More matches were needed to qualify - while at both the 1998 and 2002 32-team World Cups, 3 of the 5 African teams played only 6 matches to get to the finals, here 3 of the 5 teams that qualified played 12 matches. Four of Africa's five representatives to the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals were debutants, in contrast to 2002 when four of five had appeared at the previous World Cup.

text: In Group 1, Togo beat 2002 World Cup quarterfinalists Senegal by two points. The Black Stars of Ghana won Group 2 by five points while in Group 3, Les Éléphants of Côte d'Ivoire lost both its matches to Cameroon but won the group since Cameroon drew too often. In Group 5, Tunisia won the group one point ahead of 1998 finalists and perennial rivals Morocco. Although Morocco was the only African team (of those who played a match) to remain undefeated, it drew half its matches. In Group 4, Angola and Nigeria both finished with 21 points after 10 matches, with Nigeria having a far superior goal difference thanks largely to scoring five goals against both Algeria and 3rd placed Zimbabwe in their last two matches. However, it had already been decided that head to head results were to be used to break such ties in 2006 World Cup Qualification before goal difference. The Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes) of Angola, having beaten Nigeria 2-1 on aggregate, qualified for the World Cup.

text: At the World Cup Finals, Côte d'Ivoire lost its first two Group C matches 1-2 to Argentina and 1-2 to the Netherlands before coming back from 0-2 down to beat Serbia and Montenegro 3-2. In Group D, Angola - the only African team at the finals with a local coach (Luís Oliveira Gonçalves) - lost their first match 0-1 to Portugal, then drew 0-0 with Mexico and 1-1 with Iran. In Group G, Togo made more news off the pitch with disputes over team bonuses causing coach Otto Pfister to walk out on the team until just before the first match and FIFA officials having to step in to stop players threatening to boycott the second match.[50] Togo lost 1-2 to South Korea, lost 0-2 to Switzerland, and 0-2 to eventual finalists France. In Group H, Tunisia drew 2-2 with Saudi Arabia, lost 1-3 to Spain (including an injury time penalty from Fernando Torres), and 0-1 to Ukraine.

text: In Group E, Ghana began with up a 0-2 loss to eventual winners Italy with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic and a 2-1 win over the U.S.. Thus the debutants ensured an African representative in the Round of 16 for the sixth successive World Cup. They lost 0-3 to Brazil in the Round of 16. The match was later alleged to have been fixed,[51] charges immediately denied by the Ghana Football Association.[52]

text: While for the sixth successive time there was an African team in the Round of 16, Africa remained the only continent (other than Oceania) to never have two teams reach the Round of 16 at the same World Cup.

text: 2010: Ghana gets to Quarter Final[edit]

text: The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the first time the World Cup was staged in Africa, with South Africa being the hosts. Their national team became the first World Cup hosts to get knocked out in the first round. Nigeria, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon also exited the tournament after the Group stages

text: However, Ghana progressed beyond the group stages of the FIFA World Cup for the second time in a row, and defeated the U.S. 2-1 after extra time in the Round of 16, which saw them reach the quarter-finals, becoming the third African nation to do so. In the quarter-finals, they were eliminated by Uruguay. Ghana were defeated by Uruguay on penalties after Luis Suárez controversially handballed on the goal line deep into extra time, denying Ghana an almost certain winning goal. The penalty that followed, was missed by Asamoah Gyan.[53] Had Ghana won their quarter final they would have become the first African nation to progress to the semi finals of the world cup. Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA ranked Ghana 7th.[54]

text: 2014: Algeria and Nigeria: 2 African teams to the Round of 16[edit]

text: The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil marked the first time more than one African team went beyond the group stages. While Ghana and Cameroon both collected disappointing results (apart from Ghana's 2-2 draw with later champions Germany, which saw them becoming the only team not to lose against the Germans in the entire tournament) and eventually ended fourth in their group, Ivory Coast were also knocked out in the first round after a last-minute penalty kick against Greece and ended third in Group C, above Japan, whom they had defeated 2-1 in their first match.

text: Africa's pride, however, was saved by both Nigeria and Algeria. The Nigerians kicked off their Group F campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Iran, before eventually defeating debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0. Stephen Keshi's team went down 3-2 to later finalists Argentina in their final match, leaving them on the brink of elimination, but Iran lost to the Bosnians 3-1 and Nigeria went through to the Round of 16 for the third time in history, after 1998 and 1994.

text: Algeria lost 2-1 to a strong Belgium in their opening match in Group H, a loss which was followed by an unexpected 4-2 victory over the Korean Republic in Porto Alegre in their second match. In their final Group H encounter, a hard-won 1-1 draw with Russia was enough to send the North Africans through to the next round.

text: In the Round of 16, both African teams fell just short to beat the likes of France (Nigeria) and Germany (Algeria), but the fact that two African nations had reached that far, was a reason to be optimistic about the future of African football.

text: During the 2014 edition, Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan became Africa's all-time leading topscorer at the FIFA World Cup, having scored 6 goals in 3 World Cups, thus exceeding Cameroon veteran Roger Milla's 5 goals.

text: Like in many former World Cup editions, Africa's participation was marked by political and financial conflicts, as well as instability between teams and staff, which caused outrage about mainly the Cameroon and Ghana camps, which had taken drastic measures to keep the players happy.

text: African firsts at the World Cup[edit]

text: World Cup Finals[edit]

text:
1934: Egypt, first African country at the World Cup
1934: Abdulrahman Fawzi of Egypt, first African to score at the World Cup, who scored both Egypt's goals in 2-4 loss against Hungary. He netted a third, but was ruled offside.[23]
1970: Morocco, first African country to score a goal at the World Cup Finals, with a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria
1974: Kidumu Mantantu of Zaire, first African player to receive a yellow card at the World Cup against Scotland on 14 June 1974.[55]
1974: Mulamba Ndaye of Zaire, first African player to receive a red card at the World Cup against Yugoslavia on 18 June 1974.[31]
1978: Tunisia, first African country to win a match at the World Cup Finals, with 3-1 over Mexico
1978: Abdelmajid Chetali of Tunisia, first African coach at the World Cup Finals
1982: Algeria, first African team to win twice at the group stage (The first team eliminated after winning twice in the group stages of the Fifa World Cup)
1982: FIFA introduced a revised qualification system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously after Algeria protesting against its controversial elimination from the group stage caused by the match named Disgrace of Gijón.
1986: Algeria, first African team to qualify twice in a row (1982 and 1986)
1986: Morocco, first African team to reach round of 16
1990: Cameroon, first African team to reach quarter-finals
1990: Magdi Abdelghani of Egypt, first African to score a penalty at the World Cup in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands
1994: Nigeria scored the biggest African win at the World Cup Finals, 3-0 over Bulgaria
1994: Roger Milla, the oldest player to score at World Cup Finals, aged 42, against Russia. (Russia won the match 6-1)
1998: Youssef Chippo of Morocco. first African to score an own goal at the World Cup, in the 2-2 draw against Norway on 10 June 1998. Two days later, Pierre Issa of South Africa scored an own goal in the 0-3 loss to France.
2010: South Africa, first African country to host the World Cup
2010: Itumeleng Khune of South Africa, first African goalkeeper to receive a red card at the World Cup against Uruguay. (He was the second goalkeeper ever sent off at the World Cup Finals, after Italy's Gianluca Pagliuca at the 1994 FIFA World Cup)
2014: Algeria and Nigeria, first occasion in which two African teams qualified for round of 16
2014: Algeria, first African team to score four goals in one match, in the 4-2 win against South Korea
2014: Stephen Keshi of Nigeria, first African coach to reach round of 16

text: World Cup Qualifiers[edit]

text:
1978 WCQ: Tunisia, first African team to use penalties in World Cup Qualification, beating Morocco 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.[25][26]
2002 WCQ: Abdul Hamid Bassiouny of Egypt, the fastest-ever hat-trick in an "A" international, scored a hat-trick in 177 seconds against Namibia in Alexandria on 13 July 2001 during an 8-2 win by Egypt.[26][56]
2010 WCQ: Algeria, most matches played by an African team to qualify for the World Cup Finals, 13 matches