Can an African Side Finally Reach the Last Four in Russia 2018?
Senegal
The West African nation hosts some of the best players in Europe but lacks depth in key areas. They will be looking to Liverpool star Sadio Mane to stay fit if they are to reach their ultimate goal, which should be to escape a group consisting of Poland, Colombia and Japan. If they can get through to the second round then it is possible that they can progress.
Sadio Mane by Дмитрий Садовников (CC BY-SA 3.0)
They are coached by Aliou Cisse, who was the captain during their last World Cup outing in 2002, and he has put together a formidable squad that was unbeaten during qualifying. His key man at the back is Kalidou Koulibaly, who marshals the defensive line well and has been a star in Sarri’s Napoli side this season.
Nigeria
Often considered the most likely African side to progress due to their historical production of star names but this side perhaps lacks the pedigree of past teams. The best players during qualifying have been current Chelsea wing-back Victor Moses and ex-Chelsea midfield John Obi-Mikel. They made light work of a tough qualifying group, beating Algeria and Cameroon at home while remaining unbeaten.
Their coach Gernot Rohr will have his work cut out to get them to go any distance in Russia but in Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, they have an emerging talent. It would be worth checking their odds on sportsbet, which can now be accessed on your iPhone and putting a few bitcoins on their chances as they could be a dark horse team. Grouped with Argentina, Iceland and Croatia getting out of the group may even prove too much for the Super Eagles but they will be no pushover.
Morocco
The North West African nation has finally made it back to a finals for the first time since France 1998. They were unbeaten in qualifying and have a squad containing some very skilful players including Mbark Boussoufa and Younes Belhanda at Al-Jazira and Galatasaray respectively. Their stand-out player, however, is Juventus centre-back Mehdi Benatia, who also captains the side.
They are coached by Frenchman Harve Renard and he would be heralded a hero if he can get his charges out of a group that contains Spain, Portugal and Iran. The main problem for the Moroccans is their lack of a world-class striker and their only physical presence up front is that of St Pauli’s Aziz Bouhaddouz, although he has recently lost his place.
Tunisia
A bit of an enigma would be the best way to describe the North African nation. Even their star man Youssef Msakni doesn’t play in a prominent European league but rather ply’s his trade in Qatar. They have a slow backline that will be easy to expose by the better sides but in Wahbi Khazri they have something of a set-piece specialist.
They are coached by Nabil Maaloul and he will just be hoping his charges can put in a good performance at the nation’s first finals since Germany 2006. They are in a group with England, Panama and Belgium so getting to the second round would be seen as an achievement.
Egypt
Often considered one of the finest African sides on the continent, Egypt lost just once during the qualifiers winning all their home matches. They have some outstanding stars including Premier League trio Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, Mohamed Elneny of Arsenal and Ahmed Hegazi of West Bromwich Albion. There is no doubt that Salah is their talisman and all eyes will be on him if the Egyptians are to get far, his form for Liverpool certainly gives the nation hope.
Mohamed Salah by Дмитрий Голубович (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Coached by Argentinian Hector Cuper, they will be hoping to progress out of the group consisting of Uruguay, hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia. The only question is whether this group of players have enough experience to get the job done but the excitement around the team will be manic come summer time.