2010 World cup host Africa's hope rest on Ghana who will face USA next
With six African nations in the World Cup, and the home continent advantage on their sides, there were high hopes African teams would do well at the 2010 FIFA South Africa World Cup.
So far, those hopes have been sorely dashed. Out of Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and hosts South Africa, only Ghana has managed to make it out of the qualifying stages. The Black Stars did not advance by much either, with only a single goal separating them and Australia. The Ivory Coast could theoretically advance, but would need some kind of a miracle with a huge goal differential separating them and Portugal.
The relative failure of the African nations means that FIFA will likely diminish their slots for the next tournament, with five or perhaps four teams more likely to be chosen from Africa for the 2014 World Cup.
Economic Powerhouse against economic backwater
Ghana will take on a tough American side in the Group of 16 stage. The matchup is notable for a few reasons. First off, it’s a grudge match, with Ghana having beaten the Americans in 2006 to eliminate them from the tournament.
It also pits two teams who barely escaped the Group stage against each other. The U.S was about to be eliminated when they scored a miraculous goal in the 92nd minute of their final game against Algeria to advance. Ghana escaped by only a single goal differential. But America should have had more points, having been robbed of a win by a bizarre call in their 2-2 tie against Slovenia, and having had a questionable offside call negate an early goal against Algeria.
But the U.S-Ghana match is perhaps more noteworthy for being symbolic of the disadvantages Ghana faces. The U.S has the largest economy in the world, while Ghana’s is the world’s ninth-worst. A huge gulf of wealth separates the two countries, but a victory for Ghana would be a huge sign of hope for continent, proof that economic disadvantages need not spill onto the soccer pitch.
"We want to do it for Africa. We want to break records," midfielder Sulley Muntari said. To do that they need to make the semi-finals, which no African nation has ever managed to do.
Other African nations fizzle out
Africa’s hopes of winning a Cup, or at least sending multiple teams into the knockout stages have hit a few snags. Egypt, with its no. 12 ranking, was by ranking at least, the 3rd best team in the world to have missed the World Cup.
The Nigerian Super Eagles, who had high hopes coming into the tournament simply imploded, firing their coach months before the World Cup, cancelling international warm-up matches before the tournament, and even lacking basic organizational skills, as was evidenced by their difficulty in even booking a flight to South Africa. Despite possessing wonderful talent on their team, they were unable to put it all together.
The Cameroonians, the highest ranked team from Africa in the tournament, was plagued by infighting. Samuel Eto’o, one of the best African players in the world, criticized his coach publicly after the first match for having played him in what he considered the wrong position. The dispute between himself and coach Paul Le Guen became a major issue, and Eto’o was ultimately given quite a bit of say in the choosing of the line-up. It still wasn’t enough, and Cameroon failed to win a single point, losing all three of their games.
South Africa for its part would likely never have made it to the World Cup if it had had to qualify, but the hosts actually performed quite well in spite of being slotted in one of the tougher groups. A tie with Mexico and a win against France brought pride to the host nation, but ultimately wasn’t enough to qualify.
Regardless, Ghana still has a good chance of beating the Americans, something Muntari says is important for his team.
"We want to prolong our stay here," Muntari said. "We want to win every game. We want to reach far.”
And the reason for the added incentive, and the added pressure is obvious, as Muntari points out.
"This one is being hosted by an African country."
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