Nine of the ten African teams at the World Cup advance to the Round of 16, the continent's best showing in the expanded 48-team tournament and a concrete sign of rising competitiveness.Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Algeria move on as the best third-placed teams, while Morocco, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Cape Verde qualify outright; South Africa is eliminated by Canada in the Round of 16.Coaches and journalists including
Otto Addo,
Osasu Obayiuwana and
Sébastien Desabre credit improved infrastructure, European-trained players such as
Yan Diomande and
Ayyoub Bouaddi, and better coaching even as organizational problems and disputes over player payments persist.