Africa's FIFA World Cup-bound teams confirmed their final 26-man squads for the tournament this week, with head coaches across the continent making some difficult decisions as they finalise their rosters before the competition begins.
Here are some of the major talking points, the learnings and the unanswered questions from Africa's confirmed World Cup squads.
Will Morocco regret overlooking En-Nesyri?
Arguably the biggest omission from Africa's World Cup squads was Youssef En-Nesyri, who was left at home by new Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
He's opted to keep faith with Soufiane Rahimi and Ayoub El Kaabi as the Atlas Lions' only central striking options.
It risks leaving them a little short, particularly given the conditions, given the intensity of the schedule, and given the country's aspirations to go deep in the competition.
Suspension or injury to either El Kaabi or Rahimi -- both of whom are over 30 -- would then require Morocco to pull Ismael Saibari or Brahim DÃaz out of their primary positions in order to cover in attack, disrupting other areas of the team in the process.
It's true that En-Nesyri's stock has fallen in recent years, although he has scored eight goals at Al Ittihad since moving to Saudi Arabia in February and, as he proved during the run to the semifinals in 2022, with winners against Canada and Portugal, is a player for the big occasion.
Will Koulibaly be fit in time?
Senegal skipper Kalidou Koulibaly was named in their World Cup squad despite not having featured for club side Al Hilal since their 6-0 victory over Al Kholood on April 8.
He was not involved in Senegal's 3-2 defeat by the United States on May 31 - missing yet another opportunity to take steps towards match fitness - and now only has one more friendly (against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday) ahead of the Group I opener against France on June 16.
The good news is that Koulibaly returned to training on Thursday, but what kind of condition will he be in when Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and co. come hunting for goals at the MetLife Stadium?
Algeria's goalkeeping concerns
Algeria were on the brink of a goalkeeping crisis heading into the World Cup, with first-choice Luca Zidane breaking his jaw at the end of April, raising concerns about his participation.
Unsure of the status of his number one, head coach Vladimir Petkovic named five goalkeepers in his provisional squad, with Melvin Mastil, Oussama Bent and Abdelatif Ramdane (three caps between them) still with the team as back-ups to Zidane.
The 28-year-old Granada man made his return - wearing a unique protective full-face mask - for Algeria's 1-0 friendly victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday, assuaging some concerns about his availability.
Algeria will certainly be hoping he can avoid any further injury setbacks, given the paucity of experience amidst his replacements.
Can Aguerd and Diop forge a CB partnership?
On paper, Morocco have probably the strongest centreback pairing among Africa's World Cup-bound teams, with Premier League stalwart Issa Diop set to partner arguably the continent's finest central defender Nayef Aguerd.
There are only two problems; firstly, Aguerd's fitness is a point of concern. The 30-year-old hasn't played a minute of football since March 4, after sustaining a groin injury at Marseille, with Ouahbi hinting that the Atlas Lions may have to make a late decision on whether or not to replace him before their opening match.
In a best case scenario, should Aguerd remain with the squad, there's no chance that he and Diop will take to the field together before the competitive action begins.
With Diop only making his international debut during the March international break - when Aguerd was already sidelined - it means that the North Africans' first-choice centreback pairing will not have played a single minute alongside each other before the World Cup proper.
Brazil will be licking their lips.
Will Ivory Coast regret bold attacking decisions?
No one can accuse the Ivory Coast of playing it safe with their squad selection. Experienced heads were discarded, while the Elephants are instead putting their faith in some players with little-to-no experience of international football.
The likes of Sébastien Haller, Wilfried Zaha, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Jérémie Boga will be watching the World Cup from the outside, while Elye Wahi and Ange-Yoan Bonny - with one cap between them - could now step into key roles.
Adding those two to an already youthful squad - only one of nine named forwards is over 24 - is a courageous step by Emerse Fae, but relatively few of his attacking options are genuinely tried-and-tested goal threats in top level football.
Ghana must compensate for injury absentees
Carlos Queiroz has to find solutions for key absences at both ends of the pitch, with Mohammed Kudus failing to recover from his injury-hit second half of the season to make the World Cup, and both Mohammed Salisu and Alexander Djiku both also missing out with injury.
Kudus brings a rare spark of magic and the ability to beat his man, qualities which are rare among this crop of players, while Salisu and Djiku could feasibly have expected to have been Ghana's first-choice centreback pairing.
Kudus cannot be replaced, as while the Black Stars have various decent wide options, no one carries his rare combination of qualities.
In defence, Queiroz will hope a well organised, rigid system can compensate for the experienced pair's absence, but the likes of Jerome Opoku, Jonas Adjetey and Derrick Luckassen are a clear downgrade.
Tunisia leave experience at home
Sabri Lamouchi has been appointed as Tunisia head coach in order to oversee a significant improvement for the Carthage Eagles after consecutive poor AFCON campaigns. Although when he announced a much-changed squad for the March friendlies, it wasn't clear whether it was a permanent change of direction or a brief opportunity to experiment.
It's proved to be the former, with the North Africans naming a World Cup squad without influential centurion Ferjani Sassi or key defender Yassine Meriah, who has 95 caps to his name.
The pair have been key pillars of the squad for over a decade, and while there are still some experienced heads in the squad, Tunisia are in very unfamiliar territory without two of their most familiar faces.
Can Rayners break into Bafana's starting XI?
Hugo Broos' decision to include in-form Mamelodi Sundowns striker Iqraam Rayners in his final squad was perhaps a concession on the part of the Belgian coach that he doesn't have compete faith in Lyle Foster and Evidence Makgopa to lead the line.
It's easy to see why; the former has scored just three Premier League goals for Burnley all season, while Makgopa netted just six in 24 PSL outings for Orlando Pirates.
Rayners doubled Makgopa's tally for Sundowns, and while Broos didn't trust the 30-year-old for the Africa Cup of Nations, will he now give him the opportunity of breaking into Bafana Bafana's starting XI for their World Cup Group A campaign?
How big a role can Bouaddi play at the World Cup?
Morocco opted to hand a squad berth to wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi for the World Cup, rewarding the Lille youngster for his fine form in Ligue 1 recently.
The teenager previously represented France at youth level, but made his Atlas Lions debut in their pre-tournament friendly against Madagascar having forced his way into the squad ahead of the likes of Sofiane Boufal, Imran Louza, Oussama Targhalline and Mohamed Rabie Hrimat.
Now, the question is, what role does he play for the North Africans at the World Cup?
Ouahbi is not short of excellent midfield options, but Bouaddi - linked with a move to Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks - has the momentum and quality to force his way into the coach's starting XI.
How will the head coach integrate the talented 18-year-old into his midfield for the World Cup without ruffling too many feathers?
What's the plan for Bara Sapoko Ndiaye?
Bouaddi's story is a similar one for Senegal wonderkid Ndiaye, who made his debut for Senegal in their pre-tournament friendly against the USA on May 31.
Speculation, when Ndiaye was initially named in Pape Thiaw's provisional squad, was that the youngster was being given an opportunity to train with the team for valuable experience, but wasn't a genuine contender for the World Cup squad.
However, Thiaw ultimately included him in his 26-man team, before giving him the opportunity to impress against the States.
"I was asleep, and woke up to see many missed calls and messages, and that was when I looked and discovered that I was named in the 26," the 18-year-old told the Senegal Federation's official media.
"It's a huge pride for me, and I'm taking nothing for granted."
In April, the starlet made his Bayern Munich debut in their 5-0 victory at St. Pauli, and he's certainly looked accomplished as new landmarks have been broken in recent weeks.
Clearly, he's no longer just there for the ride, but what kind of role will he play for Senegal at the World Cup?
