The five members of Africa’s FIFA World Cup squad took advantage of this international break to complete their preparations for the competition in Qatar and build the groundwork for moving on to the knockout rounds.
However, Africa’s five qualifiers had a difficult week, winning just four of a total of ten games (just one against a team ranked in the top 80 of FIFA), and each team now has obvious problems that need to be resolved before the world championship.
The excitement that greeted Ghana, Senegal, and Cameroon’s group-stage draw earlier in the year has in fact been replaced by hard-nosed realism, and it is impossible to ignore the possibility of another dismal showing for Africa’s teams in the event.
Although African teams have made some outstanding tournament performances in the past, the continent’s current performance has been dismal.
Only in Brazil 2014 did more than one team participate in the knockout rounds, and Russia 2018 marked the worst overall performance for the region to date because none of the five qualifiers advanced past the group stage.
African teams have only triumphed in 10 of their combined last 47 games at the actual event, and the possibility of another dismal performance or possibly a repetition of last year’s first-round eliminations looms large. We give an update on each of Africa’s five teams traveling to Qatar, outlining their main areas for development.
Morroco
Let’s have a look at Morroco. The only team among the top five to have improved on its prior international showings this year was Morocco, one of only two teams to have gone undefeated after the break.
The decision to replace Vahid Halilhodzic with Walid Regragui—untested at this level but accomplished in his native country—remains risky, but early indications suggest the new manager has overseen a significant boost in morale, and the 2-0 victory over Chile in Barcelona was the best performance by any African qualifier this week.
There is no question that this team is filled with elite quality, but Halilhodzic’s traditional coaching style failed to get the best out of Morocco’s creative players, leading to Amine Harit’s exclusion and Hakim Ziyech’s decision to retire from international competition in February.
Ziyech’s return was all an impatient Morocco would have hoped for, as he and Sofiane Boufal formed a solid partnership and generated a ton of scoring opportunities.
Returning Noussair Mazraoui slid in at left-back, completing Achraf Hakimi on the other flank and resolving another issue Vahid had brought up. Now, Morocco appears to be the most threatening and cohesive of Africa’s teams, just as they did prior to Russia 2018.
Senegal is next on our list. The second African team to remain unbeaten this period was Senegal, which followed up a simple victory over Bolivia with a courteous 1-1 draw with Iran.
Although Edouard Mendy’s forced absence due to injury and the absence of several other important players from the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations owing to injury, lack of playing time, or being without a club, it might have been much worse.
At the end of the window, head coach Aliou Cisse bemoaned his team’s inability to convert chances. In reality, this is a crucial area that needs to be rectified, since Senegal’s mediocre midfield cannot be counted on to generate an abundance of chances against more difficult opponents.
Sadio Mane’s penalty against Bolivia ended a six-game goalless streak for him, but players like Ismaila Sarr cannot afford to be as careless against more menacing opponents. Senegal is still in a good position to advance from Group A as they have only lost one whole international match in the previous two years, to Egypt in the first leg of the World Cup qualifying playoff.
Ghana
Ghana is still looking for improvements. Ghana has had a topsy-turvy year, and the rollercoaster shows no signs of slowing down as the World Cup approaches.
The controlled, methodical playoff victory against Nigeria came after a catastrophic Africa Cup of Nations campaign, but the Black Stars have struggled to advance despite the inclusion of several dual-nationality players who have improved the caliber of the starting XI.
The frailty of Thomas Partey was highlighted by his removal from the team minutes before the start of the match against Brazil. His absence undoubtedly had an impact on the West Africans’ catastrophic first half, in which they fell down 3-0 after 40 minutes.
The opportunity to build this new-look side around Partey was missed when he returned to London, but it would have been a good practice run should the Arsenal player’s injury woes resurface before the World Cup.
Before defeating poor Nicaragua, Ghana improved in the second part of the match against Brazil, with Mohammed Salisu strengthening the defense and debuts for Inaki Williams and Tariq Lamptey.
It is unknown whether Ghana will have enough time to acclimate to their new players after Otto Addo admitted after the Brazil game that he had made mistakes in the way he had set up the team. Otto Addo may have hinted that he might use a back three for the World Cup.
Cameroon
Similar to Ghana, Cameroon has struggled to capitalize on its World Cup playoff victory and still needs to persuade people that they are more than the sum of their parts.
The Indomitable Lions had a particularly difficult week, and after FECAFOOT’s contentious split from Le Coq Sportif, which has dominated Cameroon’s backpages since the beginning of July, it must have been a relief to return to happenings on the field.
But after losing their most recent two games, they might now be hoping for some juicy off-field drama to distract from this team’s shortcomings!
The blossoming friendship between Williams and Mohammed Kudus was the game’s one significant positive, but can they maintain it against tougher competition? After this week, Ghana seems to have little chance of beating South Korea, Uruguay, and Portugal in Qatar.
Tunisia
The fourth team on the list is Tunisia which continues to struggle despite the efforts. For Tunisia, the narrow victory over the Comoros was overshadowed by their humiliation at the hands of Brazil, making this a difficult international break.
The Selecao’s energy and the horrific racism directed at Richarlison couldn’t totally overshadow Tunisia’s poor performance, as the North Africans gave up four goals in the first 40 minutes and ultimately fell 5-1.
On the eve of a significant tournament, the score is an unfavorable one. Tunisia, like Ghana, will be happy that Brazil slowed down after the break, but Dylan Bronn’s dismissal in the 42nd minute made the remainder of the game feel more like a meaningless exhibition for both teams.
At least seven of the players who started against the South Americans were anticipated to start their World Cup campaign, but that starting lineup lacked the ‘grinta’ that has always given Tunisia faith that they can pose a threat to more powerful opponents.
Wahbi Khazri, Naim Sliti, and Taha Khenissi should strengthen the attack, and Ali Maaloul, Bilel Ifa, and Bechir Ben Said are likely to return to the defense for Tunisia’s World Cup opener against Denmark. However, it seems that man-for-man Tunisia lacks the talent necessary to advance out of the group. They must undoubtedly keep their cool and focus better than they did against Brazil on Tuesday against France.
Cameroon
Similar to Ghana, Cameroon has struggled to capitalize on its World Cup playoff victory and still needs to persuade people that they are more than the sum of their parts.
The Indomitable Lions had a particularly difficult week, and after FECAFOOT’s contentious split from Le Coq Sportif, which has dominated Cameroon’s back pages since the beginning of July, it must have been a relief to return to happenings on the field. But after losing their most recent two games, they might now be hoping for some juicy off-field drama to distract from this team’s shortcomings!
There was no evidence to support FA President Samuel Eto’o’s claim that Cameroon still intended to make it to the World Cup final following their loss to World No. 77 Uzbekistan, despite his comments.
Bryan Mbeumo lacked confidence, fullbacks Nouhou Tolo and Collins Fai struggled to establish themselves, and Vincent Aboubakar was successfully shut down during Nicolas Nkoulou’s international comeback.
