Bonus: Can an African team win the World Cup?

**Valerie Sanderson** (0:00)
Hello, I'm Valerie Sanderson from The Global News Podcast. With the World Cup now underway, we thought you'd enjoy hearing from another BBC World Service podcast more than the score. All through the tournament, they'll be telling stories of the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms changing the game in ways the stats simply don't show. In this episode, they're asking if any of the 10 African nations in this year's tournament could win it all.
You can listen to the whole episode right here and I hope you enjoy it.

**Lee James** (0:31)
Hello, I'm Lee James and this is More Than the Score, the BBC World Service podcast that's looking at the stories beyond the score sheets at the FIFA Men's World Cup. Half a century on from Pele's infamous prophecy that an African nation will win the World Cup before the year 2000, could this finally be the tournament where the continent delivers its maiden global title?
Cameroon's run to the 1990 quarterfinal was the first of Africa's significant achievements emulated by Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010, and then surpassed by Morocco at the last tournament in Qatar in 2022, when they produced the watershed moment reaching the semifinals. Now a record 10 African nations will compete at these World Cup finals. Could one of those nations deliver Africa's first World Cup? Well, the Democratic Republic of Congo are represented for only the second time in their history, and their former captain, Gabriel Zakuani, is with us, along with the former Sierra Leone captain and Premier League defender, Steven Caulker. Hello to you both.

**Steven Caulker** (1:41)
Hi, how are you doing?

**Gabriel Zakuani** (1:42)
Hi, Lee.

**Lee James** (1:43)
Welcome both of you. This is a specially extended edition of the More Than the Score Podcast, because we've got so much to fit in. But first of all, Gabby, you must be tremendously proud that the Leopards are back on the world stage then, playing at their first finals for over 50 years.

**Gabriel Zakuani** (1:59)
Yeah, I mean, obviously, I'm absolutely buzzing. It's still taking time to sink in. All the preparation has gone for this over the last four years. I would say we've really took 100 percent in focus in getting to the World Cup.
So this is a dream realized, but we're not there just to make up the numbers. So we're there to compete and the hard work really starts now.

**Lee James** (2:19)
Steven, you played in World Cup qualifiers for Sierra Leone. You know that Africa's qualification process for the tournament has arguably been the most brutal in world football. Strong teams often missed out on the global showpiece. How important now we've got 10 teams then representing the continent at the finals.

**Steven Caulker** (2:37)
Yes, such a good opportunity for African football to really go and showcase what they've got. They've got so much individual talent. And I think what we're seeing now are teams really well prepared by their coaches. I think we're seeing not just the individual talent now. I think we're now seeing a collective unit and Morocco set the standard in the last World Cup. And I'm really excited to see what the teams can do this year. I think that there may be one or two surprises in there.

**Lee James** (3:00)
And great opportunities for all. But Steven, for a team like Catford making their debut, they'll be the 14th African nation to have played at the World Cup finals. It is special, isn't it, for players and for everyone connected to the country.

**Steven Caulker** (3:13)
It's a fairy tale, honestly. Like when I look at it, I'm a little bit jealous, in all honesty, of what they've managed to achieve. It's such a small country, but they've managed to recruit really well. They've got a team together there. Like I said, it's a team that plays collectively. They've got, of course, individual talent, but it's how they play collectively that has brought them the success. It's really, really exciting for Cape Verde. I think for all of African football, I think everyone has a soft spot for them. You know, of course, Gabby was saying he's rooting for DR Congo, but I think if you were to choose a second team, I think Cape Verde is the one, because there is a real soft spot for them amongst us Africans.

**Lee James** (3:47)
Yeah, if you're picking a second team, perhaps Cape Verde will see what their prospects are like a little later then. Now, it is difficult to win a World Cup. Only eight nations have managed to do it, representing only two continents. So Africa is not alone in seeking this first continental winner. Historically, there just weren't sufficient opportunities to qualify.