FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template
Africa will be represented by a record five teams at this month’s World Cup. South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Morocco and Tunisia will all be aiming to make a breakthrough for the continent. Although Nigeria are the reigning Olympic champions, no-one seriously considers an African nation likely to win football’s premier prize. Franz Beckenbauer, a World Cup winner as a German player and coach, believes the African quintet will be of nuisance value at best. “With five teams coming to France the chances are good that at least one of them will make, say, the quarter-finals,” said Beckenbauer. “But I certainly don’t see them playing for the title.” In just a decade, though, African teams have nonethless become meaningful competitors on the international stage. Taribo West, the Nigerian international defender who now plays for Inter Milan, believes the quintet in France are certainly capable of upsetting more established sides. “The world should expect surprises from African teams,” said West.
South African coach Philippe Troussier, a Frenchman who has coached in Africa for a decade, has spoken of the defensive frailities of his own side, but said: “This could be the World Cup for Africa.” Critics of African teams have traditionally pointed to the fact that flair and ability need to be allied to discipline and a professional attitude. With ever more African players now playing for leading European clubs, that argument carries far less weight. “African teams have more experience and confidence now,” former Cameroon star Roger Milla said in a recent magazine interview. “But the real key to the solution is work. Hard work.”
It was not until the 1990 World Cup in Italy that African sides began to make a serious impact at World Cup level. Milla’s Cameroon side caused a huge surprise when they beat defending champions Argentina 1-0 in the tournament opener and they went on to make the quarter-finals; still the best performance by an African side at the World Cup. Nigeria then won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics, underlining just how quickly improvements are being made across the continent. Football’s international governing body, FIFA, has rewarded African football by increasing the number of teams at this year’s finals from three to five.
History, though, is not on the African quintet’s side. South Africa, since being readmitted to international competition in 1992, have never beaten a European or Middle Eastern team at national level. With the Bafana Bafana drawn to face hosts France, Denmark and Saudi Arabia in Pool C of the opening round of the World Cup, the omens are not good. Troussier, Cameroon coach Claude Le Roy and Nigerian coach Bora Mulutinovic will all build their teams around players with European club experience.
The South African line-up includes English-based duo Mark Fish (Bolton) and skipper Lucas Radebe, along with Italian-based Phil Masinga and Ajax Amstersdam striker Benni McCarthy. Nigeria’s stars include Victor Ikpeba (Monaco), Nwankwo Kanu (Inter Milan), Jonathan Akpoborie (VfB Stuttgart) and Sunday Oliseh (Ajax), along with West, all experienced campaigners at the very highest level of club football. Cameroon, playing in the World Cup finals for the fourth time, feature Spanish-based goalkeeper Jacques Songo’o (Deportivo La Coruna), defensive kingpin Rigobert Song (who is moving from French club Metz to newly-promoted Italian side Salernitana), French-based rising attacking star Joseph-Desire Job (Lyon) and vastly experienced strikers Alphonse Tchame of Hertha Berlin and Patrick Mboma, who played for Paris St Germain before departing on a big-money contract to Japan. Cameroon, though, have a tough first-round draw against three-time champions Italy, Austria and rising South American power Chile.
Even the two north African sides, Morocco and Tunisia, boast European-based talent with several of the Moroccans playing in Portugal and Spain. Morocco, making their fourth finals appearance and now led by experienced French coach Henri Michel, have a tough assignment with a first-round draw against defending champions Brazil, Norway and Scotland, although they did perform superbly 12 years ago to finish their opening-round group ahead of England, Poland and Portugal. “Plenty of Moroccans live in France and we’ll have a lot of support at our matches,” said midfielder Mustapha Hadji. “Several of our players have been with French clubs, too, so that is an advantage, but not a big one.”
Tunisia’s squad is far less cosmopolitan and experienced and with a first-round draw against England, Colombia and Romania they are huge underdogs. “We couldn’t be in a tougher group,” admits German-based midfielder Zoubier Beya. “But we think we can hold our own.” Nigeria, even though they are only playing in their second World Cup finals, look the best placed of the quintet to make an impression in France. They face Bulgaria, Spain and Paraguay but have a wily coach in Milutinovic, oodles of experience and tons of talent.