Several African presidents on Sunday extended messages of congratulation to the French national team for winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
In front of 78,011 fans inside the arena and more than a billion viewers globally, France climbed the mountain for the second time in its history, beating Croatia 4-2 in a wild World Cup final on Sunday.
Didier Deschamps’ men outclassed their European counterparts after Mario Mandzukic’s own goal and efforts from Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe. Les Bleus, as the French call their squad, joined Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Uruguay as the only countries to win the World Cup more than once.
In Africa, the presidents of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Botswana and Gabon were the first leaders who used their Twitter accounts to share their messages.
Officially, sub-Saharan Africa’s involvement in the World Cup ended with Senegal’s defeat against Colombia on June 28. But players on France’s team can trace their heritage to several countries on the continent.
The victorious squad include Paul Pogba (Guinea) and Kylian Mbappe (Cameroun), Steve Mandanda (DRC), Presnel Kimpembe (Congo), Steven Nzonzi (Congo) Djibril Sidibé (Congo) N’Golo Kanté (Mali) Ousmane Démbélé (Senegal) Samuel Umtiti n (Cameroun) Benjamin Mendy (Senegal) Blaise Matuidi (Congo) Corentin Tolisso (Togo) Adil Rami (Morocco) Nabil Fekir (Algeria).
As a reminder, Africans have played on the French national team since the 1930s, according to the New York Times.