History Makers: Three African Teams Advance To The Round of 16 Of The FIFA Women's World Cup For The First-Time Ever.

For the first time in Women's World Cup history, there are THREE African teams in the round of 16.

Following the completion of Thursday’s group stage fixtures at the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in. Australia and New Zealand, Three of Africa's four representatives have now qualified for the round of 16 after Morocco made history against Colombia in Group H.

The Atlas Lionesses defeated Colombia 1-0 in their last group match at the Perth Rectangular Stadium.

Anissa Lahmari scored the only goal via a rebound after captain Ghizlane Chebbak’s penalty was saved in the 45th minute.

It is the first time any African team will win two games at the Women’s World Cup since Nigeria’s Super Falcons achieved the feat in 1999.

The result was a remarkable turnaround for Morocco, who suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to Germany in their opening group match of their debut appearance at the Mundial.

They never gave up, and went on to beat Korea Republic 1-0 on matchday two. 

The North African side had to wait for a few minutes after their 1-0 win match to confirm their qualification as Germany’s failure to defeat South Korea means Morocco would qualify as runners-up with 6 points, same points as eventual Group H winners Colombia.

Germany, who lost 2-1 to Colombia on matchday two, desperately needed to beat Korea also on Thursday to confirm their place in the knockout rounds.

But the two-time world champions could only manage a 1-1 draw with the resilient Asian side to exit the World Cup at the group stage for the first time ever across nine Women's World Cup appearances.

It could be said to be some sort of déjà vu, as the Germany's men team had also failed to qualify from the group stage for the first time ever after losing 2-0 to Korea at the 2018 World Cup.

With their incredible triumph, Morocco joins Nigeria and South Africa in the Round of 16.

With only the exception of Zambia who finished third in Group C with 3 points, behind Japan '9' and Spain '6', it is the first time in history that three African nations will make it past the group stage at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Super Falcons finished runners-up in Group B with 5 pionts behind co-hosts Australia with 6 points. They were the only unbeaten African team in the group stage. Canada finished third with 4 points, and Ireland fourth with a point.

South Africa Bayana Bayana also finished second in Group G with 4 points after their dramatic 3-2 win over Italy. Sweden were the leaders of the group securing maximum 9 points, and Argentina bottom with 1 point.

The stellar run for the African teams continues, as this would also be the FIRST time in any FIFA World Cup tournament both men's or women's - in which three African sides have progressed to the knock-out stages.

South Africa will lock horns with Group E winners the Netherlands in the last 16 on Sunday, while Nigeria will face European Champions, England on Monday, and Morocco will play France on Tuesday August 8.

Morocco lost 6-0 to Germany in the opening match but wins against South Korea and Colombia sealed a historic second-round qualification for the Africans on their first-ever appearance at the world cup.

Round of 16 matches in full:

Saturday, August 5:

🇨🇭 Switzerland 🆚 Spain 🇪🇸 (6am)

🇯🇵 Japan 🆚 Norway 🇳🇴 (9am)

Sunday, August 6:

🇳🇱 Netherlands 🆚 South Africa 🇿🇦 (3am)

🇸🇪 Sweden 🆚 USA 🇺🇲 (10am)

Monday, August 7:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 🆚 Nigeria 🇳🇬 (8:30am)

🇦🇺 Australia 🆚 Denmark 🇩🇰 (11:30am)

Tuesday, August 8:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🆚 Jamaica 🇯🇲 (9am)

🇫🇷 France 🆚 Morocco 🇲🇦 (12pm)