Despite the latest FIFA ranking which has not placed any African country in the first ten most prolific footballing nation on the planet, the African team are still a force to be reckoned with. The resilience and the fighting spirit which have characterised most of the African team even when same cannot be said of their tactical and technical approach to the game. Every team will tell you they have a tactic, but the reality will soon catch up as the whistle for the start of a pulsating 90 minutes is blown.
The top most ranked African team is Côte d’Ivoire being ranked 21st in the World. The team will be playing in a fairly tough group C; with the likes of Yahya Toure and Drogba as the stars in the team considering their sterling performances for their respective clubs. More threat is expected to be posed by the likes of Greece, Japan and Colombia that are ranked 10th, 47th and 5th respectively. I still see Côte d’Ivoire moving to the next round.
Algeria is another very formidable team on the continent ranked 25th in the world, they have a league which is one of the most exciting on the continent and the arrays of players their coach have listed in the preliminary squad ply their trade on the local scene which gives room for coherence and understanding. They are in group H which has Belgium, Russia and South Korea. The chance of Algeria progressing to the knock-out stage is slim though nothing is sure in the game of football. Belgium is one of the most improved sides in Europe considering their performance leading to the qualification for this World Cup. The boast of young exciting and energetic squad and will give any team a run for their money.
Ghana is ranked 38th in the world, having grouped in what seems to be the toughest group in the tournament. I cannot see the chance of the team progressing against the likes of Germany, Portugal and USA in group G. They appear to me as the underdog in the group, but if the team which has Boateng and Ayew brothers as their star players can prove me wrong, I will be glad to admit my predictions was wrong. They are in the same group with the 2nd (Germany) and 3rd (Portugal) ranked team in the world.
Nigeria is likely to have been drawn in an easy group F, unlike Ghana; they have Argentina the major rival, Iran and Bosnia & Herzegovina as contending teams. Nigeria is ranked 44 and “it will be a blow if they cannot fashion out an easy win against the likes of Iran and Bosnia”, said Adetola Faruk a sport analyst with UNILAG FM. He further stressed that “if Argentina proves a herculean, the wins against the two other teams should be more than enough to take us through.”
Lastly, Cameroon is a team drawn in Group H, and the indomitable Lions as they are called are ranked 50 in the world. The team is pitched against the host nation Brazil, Croatia and Mexico. The group is a little difficult to predict with Brazil being the almost certain team to progress. Going by the pundits, “the chance of Cameroon qualifying is below 30 percent as they will be meeting host to me the favourite of the tournament, Mexico a very strong side with the South American flair and Croatia a typical European team, I am not sure Cameroon can make it out of the group”, said Adetola Faruk.
With the World Cup just some days away and the teams are in top gear for the tournament, the African teams have a statement to make. The World Cup still eludes the African continent; this might just be another opportunity to wrong the assumption that winning the World Cup is still a tall dream for the Africans.