Why did England and France become the owners of the largest colonial possessions in Africa?

Why did England and France become the owners of the largest colonial possessions in Africa? For what reasons did Germany not manage to get such significant colonies?

The fact is that Germany was late in embarking on the path of centralization of power and an industrial revolution. Only by the second half of the 19th century, Germany was ready to conquer the colonies, but the problem is that almost all the lands of Africa, America, Australia were in the colonies of England and France, and Germany was not ready to wage a war for the colonies with these powerful European powers.