Cape Argus E-dition

Morocco, Senegal carry Africa’s hopes and dreams

MIHLALI BALEKA

AND then there were two! Africa must feel disappointed there are only two of their initial five representatives still remaining in the Fifa World Cup.

With African teams merely qualifying for the group stage over the past 24 years due to being runners-up, Morocco broke that streak in Qatar.

The Atlas Lions beat the odds to top Group F, after bagging seven points. And that was the second time they topped a group after 1986’s efforts.

In qualifying for the knockout stage, though, they were joined by continental kings Senegal, who’ll be proud of their efforts after missing star Sadio Mane.

Morocco and Senegal will know that they still have a lot of work to do as they’ll face Spain and England today and Tuesday respectively in the last 16.

But qualifying for the quarter-final of the finals should be far from being an achievement for Africans, given how close Ghana came to being in the semis in 2010.

The Black Stars failed in their pursuit after losing to Uruguay in the quarter-final on penalty shoot-outs, thanks to Luis Suarez’s handball late in extra-time.

Ghana, unfortunately, failed to avenge that defeat and progress to the last 16 in the ongoing showpiece, as they lost 2-0 to the Uruguayans on Friday night.

The Black Stars’ exit was hurtful in that it resulted in the resignation of coach Otto Addo, who’ll focus on his duties as Borussia Dortmund’s assistant coach.

Despite the loss, though, Ghana should be proud of their efforts. They unleashed a sensation in the 22-yearold Mohammed Kudus out in Qatar.

After his exploits, Kudus is said to be on the radar of top European clubs such as FC Barcelona, who’ll be closely monitoring him at Ajax Amsterdam.

After the Black Stars’ exit, Africa’s next bet was on Cameroon. But boy, they endured another “so close and yet so far” moment after beating Brazil 1-0.

Yes, the Rigobert Song-coached team achieved the improbable to become the first side to beat the record five-time world champions in the group stage.

Kudos should go to Vincent Aboubakar for that win. The Indomitable Lions skipper scored in stoppage time to earn his nation and Africa a famous win.

Aboubakar got a red card for taking off his shirt in celebration, given that was his second bookable offence. But who cared? He, Song and Africa didn’t.

And that’s why, after his goal, a lot of people were interested in why coach Song started Aboubakar from the bench in the two opening games.

Well, that remains a mystery. But the World Cup was taxing for many a nation that had to call-up players who were also injured from their clubs.

But if it was not that, some nations just had a knack of benching their best players. How do you explain why Tunisia’s Wahbi Khazri made cameos?

Khazri has been Tunisia’s best player for some time. And he duly proved his worth in Qatar, scoring the only goal in their win over champions France.

But that strike wasn’t enough to see them progress to the last 16, adding misery for the Africans, who now have only Morocco and Senegal to rely on.

SPORT

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2022-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

http://capeargus.pressreader.com/article/281870122465648

African News Agency