Their aspirations were ended by France, one of the many European sides littered with players of African heritage.
There will be African interest tonight, as there has been the case in finals since 1998, with Spain’s squad having two players with African parents – striker Nico Williams from Ghana and Lamine Yamal, whose father is from Morocco and mother from Equatorial Guinea.
Injury to Williams meant he has had a limited role at the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico, and the United States (where his elder brother Inaki played for the Black Stars) while Lamine has featured in all the games but scored only once and not had the impact he might have hoped for, although he is still La Roja’s most dangerous player.
Players with African heritage played a part in France’s winning side in 1998 when Ghana-born Marcel Desailly and Zinedine Zidane, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria, were key to the side that beat Brazil 3-0 in the final at Stade de France. Patrick Vieira, born in Dakar, came on as a substitute while Morocco’s Said Belqoba became the first African to referee a World Cup final with Cape Town’s Achmat Sallie as his linesman.
When France lost to Italy in the 2006 final in Berlin, Zidane got a red card while Vieira started along with Kinshasa-born Claude Makelele, while Aliou Diarra, of Senegalese heritage, came on off the bench.
In the 2002 final in Yokohama, Japan, Ghana-born Gerald Asamoah came on as a substitute for Germany in their 2-0 loss to Brazil.
There was also Ghanaian influence in the German side that won in 2014 in Rio de Janeiro with Jerome Boateng, whose father was from West Africa, in the victorious line-up.
The 2010 final was, of course, an African affair played at Soccer City in Johannesburg, which was the first, and is the only, time it has been decided on the continent. Spian edged the Netherlands after extra time.
In Moscow in 2018, France beat Croatia 4-2 in the rain with Cameroon-born Samuel Umtiti in defence; Paul Pogba, whose parents came from Guinea and whose brothers both played for Guinea’s Syli Nationale national team; N’Golo Kanté, born in Paris to Malian parents; Blaise Matuidi with an Angolan father and Congolese mother, and Kylian Mbappé, whose father was from Cameroon.
The three subs that came on for France also had African roots – Steve Nzonzi (DR Congo), Corentin Tolisso (Togo), and Nabil Fekir (Algeria).
The last final in Qatar saw the French side again with Mbappé, who scored a hat-trick yet finished on the losing side against Argentina, plus another bevy of players with African heritage in the starting line-up - Ousmane Dembélé (Mali and Mauritania), Jules Koundé (Benin), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Cameroon), Dayo Upamecano (Guinea-Bissau and Senegal).
It was the first final with five subs that included Angola-born Eduardo Camavinga plus French-born Axel Disasi (Angola and DR Congo), Youssouf Fofana (Ivory Coast and Mali), Randal Kolo Muani (DR Congo), and Ibrahima Konaté (Mali).