On paper, the majority of the African teams have a good chance to reach the World Cup round of 16 but they have a lot of work to do to make sure they do not replicate Nations Cup disappointment. A quick glance at their groups shows that it will be no surprise if Africa's representatives, apart from the unlucky Ivory Coast, get beyond the group stage of the anticipated tournament. But the teams who represent the Dark Continent showed no encouraging signs during January's Nations Cup finals in Angola. Heavyweight Ivory Coast, who were firm favorites to win the title, lost to Algeria in the quarter finals after some poor displays while the latter were handed an embarrassing 4-0 defeat by Egypt in the semis. Cameroon also lost 3-1 to Egypt in the quarter finals and Nigeria lost 1-0 to Ghana in the semis while World Cup hosts South Africa could not even reach the tournament. Ghana were the only side to put in promising performances as they reached the final and battled bravely against eventual champions Egypt before losing 1-0. The Black Stars were drawn with three-time world champions Germany in Group D but their other challengers, Australia and Serbia, are not that strong. Ghana have what it takes to overcome them and join Germany in the knockout phase, a feat they achieved four years ago before being eliminated at the hands of Brazil. Coach Milovan Rajevac's young team boast a rock-solid defense marshaled by central pair Isaac Vorsah and Lee Addy. Their midfield includes Udinese's talented man Kwadwo Asamoah who perfectly accomplished playmaking duties during the Nations Cup. If Chelsea star Michael Essien recovers from injury in time for the World Cup, he will also give Ghana more depth in midfield. Ghana should face no problems upfront, with Asamoah Gyan proving to be a reliable striker. The other African teams should address the problems they faced in the Nations Cup. Ivory Coast, who have an abundance of attacking options, paid the price for some fatal mistakes from coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who is thankfully no longer in charge.
Having more than one team in the knockouts will be a real indication that African football is making a steady progress The Bosnian fielded three men upfront - central striker Didier Drogba and two wide men who didn't have the attributes of natural wingers. The likes of Bakary Kone and Gervinho hardly troubled opponents on the wings, leaving Drogba isolated. Swede Sven Goran Eriksson, Halilhodzic's successor, should avoid such mistakes if Ivory Coast, who will face Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in Group G, are to cause a huge upset and qualify for the second round. Former Nigeria coach Shaibu Amodu also committed mistakes during the Nations Cup as he tried to use all his talented forwards at the same time regardless of what tactical problems might result. The likes of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Obafemi Martins, Ikechukwu Uche and Chinedu Obasi were available at his disposal but that was not an excuse for him to field all of them haphazardly. Nigeria enter the World Cup under the guidance of new manager - Swede Lars Lagerback. They will tackle Argentina, South Korea and Greece in Group B. Algeria, who are drawn with England, the United States and Slovenia, need to make the most of their defensive abilities and battling displays which they clearly showed during the qualifiers but struggled to implement them in the Nations Cup. They lack the creativity needed to carve out spaces but they excel at the back, so the strategy of containing opposition and trying to hit them on the break, especially against a team of England's caliber, could be useful. Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen has already said he intended to rely on some new faces after the ageing players produced disastrous performances in the Nations Cup. He should stick to his words after central defender Rigobert Song, who was stripped off Cameroon's captaincy, and right-back Geremi were outplayed by opposing frontmen in the tournament. The Indomitable Lions will face stiff competition from Holland in Group E. Denmark and Japan are also difficult to beat but they are not invincible. South Africa, who will confront Mexico, Uruguay and France, were awful in the qualifiers but they could benefit from the presence of two prominent players in Everton's Steven Pienaar and West Ham's Benni McCarthy. Having more than one team in the knockouts will be a real indication that African football is making a steady progress. Otherwise, Africa should forget about having an additional representative in the upcoming World Cups.
