Over the past few years, we have all been through so much and seen so many changes to a world we thought we knew. But, as we know, things rarely stay the same and the one constant in life is change. We have had a lot of firsts in recent years, and this year's upcoming World Cup will be no different.
It will be the first World Cup to be played during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, kicking off on the 20th of November and with the final being on the 18th of December.
It will be a first World Cup held in an Arabic nation.
It will be a first appearance for Qatar on the World Cup stage.
And it will be the first time in history that all the African teams who will be participating will have African coaches at the helm. We hope this bodes well for our African brothers who managed to qualify.
Is it Africa’s time in Qatar?
It’s no secret that an African team has never won the World Cup. We’re hoping that this year will be a different story. Just the thought of one of our African counterparts going to the desert and conquering the world gets us excited. Much like the Nigerians, South Africa did not qualify for the main event but that does not mean that we won’t be rallying behind our brothers that are competing in the World Cup tournament.
It seems African teams cannot progress past the quarter finals, they simply cannot break the proverbial glass ceiling. We have seen some steps forward and plenty backwards. The 2022 World Cup should be the one to hopefully change Africa’s trajectory in football history. Africa is blessed with talent but on and off the field matters affect the game. Things such as controversies, payment issues, bad behaviour on and off the field, poor preparation and the recruiting of foreign coaches who do not identify each country’s strengths and weakness or simply don’t understand the culture of those nations has affected African teams’ performances in the World Cup.
2022 should be different with all teams being represented by African players who have also played football on the continent. The homegrown coaches have created stability and consistency withing their teams. Tunisia, Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon, and Senegal carry the hopes of billions of people in Africa and the diaspora.
Let’s take a closer look at the teams that carry the hopes of an entire continent on their shoulders.
Tunisia
Coach Jalel Kadri has ably guided his country through the playoffs and Tunisia will appear in their sixth World Cup following their participation in 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2018. The Eagles of Carthage as they are known topped their second-round qualification group with Wahbi Khazri shining as Tunisia’s top scorer in qualification. He will have a hugely important role to play if Tunisia is to survive the star-studded sides in Group D (France, Australia, and Denmark). Looking at their opposition’s strengths, the Eagles of Carthage will need to push themselves and work as a disciplined unit in order to progress to the next round.
Ghana
Otto Addo will be leading The Black Stars from the front. It was a bumpy ride to qualifying but the main focus is the journey ahead. Addo featured in Ghana’s first World Cup appearance in 2006. The team will be up against Portugal, the Republic of Korea, and Uruguay in Group H. Although this team looks very impressive on paper and littered with promising individual talents, building a collective understanding and cohesion defensively is a challenge the coach has to deal with to stand any chance of making history.
Morocco
Coached by Wlid Regragui, Morocco managed to win every game in their qualifying group against Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, and Sudan, scoring an incredible 20 goals and conceding only one. They are looking like quite the threat ahead of this tournament and could be the surprise package out of all the African teams. They are in the same group as the 2018 runners-up Croatia, Belgium and Canada. Morocco has a star-studded side with tall and strong players such as Hakim Ziyech, Roman Saïss, Achraf Hakimi and Yassine Bounou.
Cameroon
Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions have been consistently representing Africa at the World Cup, appearing in seven World Cup editions beginning in the 80’s. In 1990 they became famous for Roger Miller’s goal celebration and continued their World Cup appearances well into the 90’s and 2000’s. Rigobert Song is another Cameroonian who enjoyed success on the world stage and played in four World Cups as a player. Cameroon will be facing the fancied Brazil, the unpredictable Switzerland, and the tough Serbians.
Senegal
The current reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions, Senegal, appear to be the most prepared and consistent with coach Aliou Cissé – who captained the 2002 team – leading from the coaches seat. This will be the Lions of Teranga’s third World Cup appearance and they will go up against the formidable Netherlands, the hosts Qatar, and under-dogs Ecuador in Group A, but Senegal’s experience and undeniable talent should see them progress over Qatar and Ecuador with the very tough Netherlands being their biggest challenge. The team sports the likes of Édouard Mendy of Chelsea, captain Kalidou Koulibaly, Idriss Gueye, Ismaïla Sarr. Unfortunately, talismanic attacker Sadio Mané is a late withdrawal from the squad due to injury and this might just be a huge blow to the team who are African favourites to push for higher honours. Thankfully, the team has many talented players who have played together often and are characterised by a strong team spirit and a never-say-die attitude.
Rising Africa
This is shaping up to be one of the best World Cup tournaments on record, with stars aplenty and the highest level of footballers the world has ever seen.
This World Cup will also serve as an opportunity to not only entertain the masses but to also garner hope in the different African states because that’s what soccer can do, it can inspire millions of people and connect the world in a way many sports can’t. We look forward to the African Nations giving it their all. One day, maybe not this tournament, but one day an African country will lift this prestigious trophy.