12 Longest Absences From The World Cup

Last Appearance: 1974

Since 1998 there has been five African teams at every World Cup (a number that will increase to nine from 2026 onwards), but bar an appearance by Egypt in 1934 the continent wasn't represented again until 1970, when Morocco made their first appearance. One team then qualified for each of the subsequent two tournaments, rising to two in 1982, then three in 1994.

Though there has been the odd exception (such as Cameroon's Cinderella story that saw them reach the quarter finals in 1990), the African sides have until recently been pushovers for their more established European and South American counterparts.

In 1974, the Democratic Republic Of The Congo, then known as Zaire, made their one and only appearance at the finals. Despite being ranked twentieth in the world by FIFA and entering as the African Cup Of Nations champion, the sub-Saharan state conceded fourteen goals on their way to an early exit and haven't been back since.

They've remained a competitive force within Africa, however, missing out on a place in Russia by just a single point in qualification. As more and more of their players make their way to the Premier League (with players at Everton, West Ham and Newcastle, for example) and become accustomed to a higher standard of football, expect the country that has the longest name of all 211 FIFA members to become noteworthy once again.