{"id":1623,"date":"2026-06-07T13:36:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T13:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:36:33","slug":"apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/","title":{"rendered":"Apam Names Morocco and Senegal Among Africa\u2019s Best for 2026 World Cup Glory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former Super Eagles and OGC Nice defender Onyekachi Apam has identified Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s leading contenders ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, expressing optimism that the continent can finally challenge for the sport\u2019s biggest trophy.<\/p>\n<h2>Apam\u2019s African World Cup shortlist<\/h2>\n<p>With the tournament approaching, Apam believes the strongest momentum in Africa is coming from three specific nations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Morocco, whom he views as the top team on the continent right now<\/li>\n<li>Senegal, listed among Africa\u2019s most dangerous competitors<\/li>\n<li>Ivory Coast, also named as a contender with the potential to make an impact<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why the 2026 World Cup changes the outlook<\/h2>\n<p>The former defender\u2019s confidence is also tied to the format of the upcoming finals. The 2026 tournament is set to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and it will be the first World Cup expanded to 48 teams.<\/p>\n<p>That growth has increased Africa\u2019s representation from five to ten nations, a shift Apam says has raised expectations across the continent that an African side could emerge as a genuine title contender.<\/p>\n<h2>Morocco the centre of Apam\u2019s belief<\/h2>\n<p>Apam\u2019s primary pick is Morocco, pointing to their recent progress on the biggest stage. Morocco became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022, a benchmark Apam believes other teams can build on.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about Africa\u2019s chances of delivering a breakthrough at the tournament, Apam said: \u201cFor me, Morocco are the best African team at the moment. It\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Super Eagles and OGC Nice defender Onyekachi Apam has identified Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s leading contenders ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, expressing optimism that the continent can finally challenge for the sport\u2019s biggest trophy. Apam\u2019s African World Cup shortlist With the tournament approaching, Apam believes the strongest momentum in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal & Ivory Coast for 2026","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal &amp; Ivory Coast for 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal &amp; Ivory Coast for 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zalebs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-07T10:36:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"884\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"headline\":\"Apam Names Morocco and Senegal Among Africa\u2019s Best for 2026 World Cup Glory\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T10:36:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":265,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/\",\"name\":\"Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal & Ivory Coast for 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T10:36:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"description\":\"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp\",\"width\":884,\"height\":590},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Apam Names Morocco and Senegal Among Africa\u2019s Best for 2026 World Cup Glory\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Zalebs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\",\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\"},\"description\":\"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/za.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/zibuyile-dladla\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal & Ivory Coast for 2026","description":"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal & Ivory Coast for 2026","og_description":"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory","og_url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/","og_site_name":"Zalebs","article_published_time":"2026-06-07T10:36:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":884,"height":590,"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Zibuyile Dladla","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zibuyile Dladla","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/"},"author":{"name":"Zibuyile Dladla","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"headline":"Apam Names Morocco and Senegal Among Africa\u2019s Best for 2026 World Cup Glory","datePublished":"2026-06-07T10:36:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/"},"wordCount":265,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/","name":"Apam Picks Morocco, Senegal & Ivory Coast for 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-07T10:36:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"description":"Former Super Eagles defender Onyekachi Apam names Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast as Africa\u2019s best hopes for 2026 World Cup glory","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/apam-tips-morocco-senegal-strong-8546.webp","width":884,"height":590},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/apam-names-morocco-and-senegal-among-africas-best-for-2026-world-cup-glory\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Apam Names Morocco and Senegal Among Africa\u2019s Best for 2026 World Cup Glory"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/","name":"Zalebs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e","name":"Zibuyile Dladla","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Zibuyile Dladla"},"description":"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}