Qualified and not qualified

We are in the last stages of the World Cup qualifiers. 

In Europe two decisive playoff matches saw Portugal and Poland qualify by defeating North Macedonia and Sweden respectively; both were 2-0 home victories. The Macedonians were never really close to pulling another surprise against the Portuguese, while the Swedes play without fantasy or passion, and will not really be missed in Qatar. One team remains to qualify: Wales will face the winner of Scotland-Ukraine, which was postponed due to the war in Ukraine.

In South America there was little to play for for everyone but Peru and Colombia. A victory for Peru against Paraguay would put them in the play-off match, while Colombia had to defeat Venezuela and hope that Peru did not win. Both Peru and Colombia won, but it was not enough for Colombia, who will be missed in Qatar (I am personally very sad not to see them qualify), but they only have themselves to blame for missing another World Cup (the last they missed was 2010). Peru in the meantime is going into a play-off match in June against Australia or the United Arab Emirates. It seems it will be Australia, and against them I think Peru's chances will be 50-50 of making it to their second World Cup in a row.

In Africa there was enormous excitement as the second legs of the playoffs took place with some upsets. Firstly, Nigeria will miss their first World Cup since 2006 when they only managed a 1-1 at home to Ghana, who I am personally happy to see back in the World Cup after they missed Russia 2018! 

In a near-repeat of the Africa Cup of Nations final Senegal eliminated Egypt after penalty kicks, following a 1-0 victory that had equalized Egypt's 1-0 victory in Cairo. The Senegalese fully deserved the victory as they were the ones looking for it, rather than the defensive Egyptians. That said, the victory was marred by the fans, who abused laser-lights at the Egyptian players, making the match appear like a rave party.

The other big upset was Cameroun, who defeated Algeria 1-2 in Algeria after having lost 0-1 at home. The match had to go into extra time, and after Ahmed Touba scoring an equalizer for Algeria in the 118th minute, Cameroun seemed eliminated, but a goal by Karl Toko Ekambi in the last kick of the match (124th minute!) put Cameroun in Qatar in what was surely a devastating blow for the talented Algerians. At the same time it will be great to see Cameroun back in a World Cup after the missed out on Russia 2018. 

Tunisia and Morocco will make up the rest if African contingent to Qatar.

Only three teams remain to qualify, and it will (likely) be decided among these: Wales, Scotland, Ukraine, Peru, Australia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Costa Rica.

Senegal champions!

Senegal has won their first African Cup of Nations title ever in an intense final against Egypt. Egypt has reached the final on a strong defense; every play-off match went into extra time, and the side managed by Carlos Queiroz appeared to believe they could win the title in the same way.

And they almost did: in a prelude of what was to come Senegal got a penalty kick at the start of the match, but Sadio Mané's hard shot was saved by the Egyptian goalkeeper from Zamalek, Gabaski. 

Gabaski was simply splendid throughout the match, and caught everything that got through the otherwise strong and organised Egyptian defense, and as the match went into extra time and penalties with the score 0-0 one had to wonder whether Egypt's plan would work with a goalkeeper that seemed invincible on the day.

But Senegal deservedly prevailed in a nerve-wrecking penalty competition, despite one excellent save from Gabaski on one of the Senegalese shots. But with one shot on the post and a save from Edouard Mendy (perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment, although Gabaski clearly outshined him today, and very unusually, but deservedly, was made Man of the Match) gave Sadio Mané the opportunity to shoot the victorious penalty kick for Senegal, soon forgetting the penalty kick during the match.

It was the best thing for African football that Senegal won, as they have been the best team throughout the tournament, and despite feeling sorry for Gabaski, Egypt were simply a team defending their way through the tournament. It was also great to see an African manager, Aliou Cissé, managed his side to the title in a continent where too many second rate foreign coaches have managed teams.

It has been a good tournament, but now ten of the teams must look forward to the World Cup playoff matches in March. In fact, Senegal and Egypt will be facing one another for a spot in Qatar in a repeat of today's final, so one of the teams will be missing out of the World Cup. I hope it will be Egypt and would be delighted to see Senegal continue their celebrations!

The best

I am not a Liverpool fan, but I have to say that I think Mohamed Salah's stats are amazing and what he has achieved for Liverpool and for Egypt in the past year must awaken respect and admiration, which I have. If he continues on the same style over the coming year, he will probably be among the best in the world
Why not at least, if not better, than Neymar, Messi or Ronaldo? If Liverpool cannot win the Champions League or Premier League without him it is probably because the rest of the team are not up to the task (I always have been of the subjective opinion that one player cannot make a football team; it objectively takes 11): one has to wonder if Liverpool could not win a title with Luis Suarez, whether Mohamed Salah is simply too good for Liverpool...?

Stuck in no-mans land when Cameroun won

I was unable to watch the Final of the Africa Cup of Nations because I was stuck in Morocco when their lousy national airline could not get me off the ground to go to beautiful Liberia. And how is it that there was nowhere to watch the final?

But much more important is that Cameroun won! The fact that I did not see it does not diminish the accomplishment of a team that not much was expected from at the start of the tournament, but who, most of all, showed discipline and camaraderie. They were perhaps the team that most wanted it, and to come from behind against such a defensively disciplined team as Egypt was a great achievement.
It is great to have the Indomitable Lions back among the best in the world!

Semifinal disappointments

The two semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations are over, and many did not expect the outcome, and are rightfully disappointed (myself included).
Burkina Faso played a great match against Egypt, and in particular in the first half were in total control. But the Egypt of Hector Cuper are extremely well-organized in defense and are deadly in counter-attack. Although Burkina Faso scored the first goal against the Egyptians in the tournament, the end result of 1-1 tokk the match to a penalty shootout where the veteran goalkeeper Essam El Hadary saved the day for Egypt.
The Burkinabe are understandably disappointed, but expect to see more to them in the future.

Then there is Ghana: a dominant African power who have been in the last 6 semifinals, but have not managed to win the tournament since 1982. And again they were favourites to beat a Cameroon side that has been full of problems in this tournament. But the problem with Ghana is that they see themselves as rightul champions: and you are no kind of champions until you have won the final. Cameroon won 2-0 on a match were they fought hard and just seemed to want it much more than Ghana. And that is the real credit of the match: an excellent Cameroon side that will surely give everything to defeat Egypt!

I had been hoping for a Ghana-Burkina Faso final. But while we can see these teams play for bronze, the final will nevertheless be very interesting!

Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinals

The year has for me started a bit oddly, with a lot of travels and work that has not fully permitted me to dwell into football. This is a pity since one of the best tournaments that modern national team football has to offer has started in Gabon, namely the Africa Cup of Nations. And although I have only watched a few matches from my base in Monrovia, it is full of excitement!
Firstly, the hosts from Gabon were eliminated in a group won by Burkina Faso ahead of Cameroon. The most talked about was the elimination of the Gabonese, but credit to a tournament-oriented Burkinabe side and a Cameroon side of indomitable lions who have not gone beyond first round since 2010.
Gabon's elimination was not as sensational as that of the highly rated Algerians, who with a team full of stars were expected to make it far. But a defeat to Tunisia and ties to Senegal and Algeria saw them out with meager 2 points, while an exciting Senegal side won the group ahead of Tunisia.
Another big team eliminated were the defending champions of Ivory Coast. Much was also expected, but like the Algerians they also only managed 2 points with ties against DR Congo and Togo, while losing 0-1 to Morocco in the last all-important match. Morocco are not exciting to watch, but solid, and Ivory Coast's stars seemed to underestimate them. The big surprise was probably the DR Congo, who ended up winning the group ahead of Morocco, and will be one of the sides to watch.
In the last group Egypt and Ghana did what they were expected to do, easily outplaying Mali and Uganda and playing for first place tonight, in a match Egypt won 1-0, playing very intelligently against a Ghana side that could surely go all the way with its experience and talent.
With this great first round, we now have the following quarterfinals:

• Burkina Faso-Tunisia
• Egypt-Morocco
• Senegal-Cameroon
• DR Congo-Ghana

The matches promise to be great in a tournament full of surprises. Most of these teams follow their dreams of victory instead of dear of losing!!
Although I will not be in Africa to follow all the quarterfinals, be sure I will!

The Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers

The Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Equatorial Guinea in January, and the last qualifying matches took place today. One major surprise is that the defending champions from Nigeria failed to qualify: they needed to win at home, but only managed to draw 2-2 against South Africa. As Congo beat Sudan 0-1, they follow the Bafana Bafana to Equatorial Guinea. It will be great to have South Africa back among the best in Africa, although it is disappointing to see Nigeria out; the team was again hit by allegations of corruption and conflict prior to the match, and changes may be coming.
Another of the great African sides will not be there: A disappointing Egypt had already been eliminated before losing their final match to Tunisia, who won the group ahead of Senegal. In the meantime, the splendid Algeria that thrilled all of us at the World Cup lost 2-0 to Mali, but had already booked their place, while Mali will follow the North Africans with their victory. The giants Ivory Coast and Cameroon both made it to the finals by tying 0-0, while Ghana sealed their qualification with a 3-1 victory over Togo. In Ghana's group Guinea took the second spot by defeating Uganda 2-0. They were playing in Morocco because of the Ebola epidemic in Guinea. The same Morocco who forsook the tournament because of Ebola....
All in all, these are the 16 great sides that will compete in Equatorial Guinea:

• Equatorial Guinea: the hosts
• South Africa
• Congo
• Algeria
• Mali
• Gabon
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Ivory Coast
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Cape Verde
• Zambia
• Tunisia
• Senegal
• DR Congo

It could be a great tournament, hopefully not to be overshadowed by fear of Ebola, where big European clubs will not let their players join because of pure ignorance.

Ghana... GHANA!

I was unable to watch Ghana-Egypt today, as I was still in the office, but was following a live feed of the match as goals were pouring in. Egypt, 2010 African champions and the only African nation to go through a clean sheet in the first round of qualifying seem to have been no match for Ghana!

But let us face the real World Cup facts: only one of these two nations belong in Brazil, and that is Ghana. Twice beloved in 2006 and 2010 for their World Cup participation, Ghana is a nation that embodies the best of African football: discipline, physical strength, technical skills, and not least, the best fans in the world. 

What about Egypt? World Cup participants in 1934 and 1990, winners in Africa many times, but without the stamina to qualify to World Cups. And what are their fans known for...?

No, Ghana belongs in Brazil, and I am more than delighted that they so thoroughly crushed the Egyptians today!

African World Cup Play-offs

The African World Cup Play-off draw has led to the following clashes:

• Ethiopia-Nigeria
• Ghana-Egypt
• Ivory Coast-Senegal
• Tunisia-Cameroun
• Burkina Faso-Algeria

The exciting newcomers from Ethiopia will have to play their best against Nigeria's African champions, while Ghana and Egypt will be an epic clash between two of the strongest footballing nations in Africa. Burkina Faso will also have to play their best to make it to their first World Cup ever, but it does not look impossible against Algeria.
First leg will be on October 11th to 15th!

A football tragedy

Besides the human loss, it is sad that the attention of the world on African football during a great tournament as the African Cup of Nations, is drawn away by the game, to the catastrophe that happened in Egypt.
I am certain that this is not what Egypt is about, with its great people and fans, and it is not what African football is about.
There seem to be many theories about what happened at the match between Al Masry and Al Ahly, and with the political turmoil that Egypt has been undergoing, this tragedy can only feed into the tension. It may be "only" a game (it is!), but in a real world where passions are at least as much a part of politics and society as anything else, football is a very important part of society. This is not new; football has been part of society since football was born, and been used by violent thugs as excuses for their destruction.
But football also unites, and as football fans, we must show our solidarity with the fans and football of Egypt.
Peace.

Disappointment

Last Friday Leones de Caracas won the Venezuelan baseball championship and there was a huge party in the city. But for a football fanatic by myself, I was more interested in the coming African Cup of Nations Final between Ghana and Egypt. However, I don't know Caracas well enough, and 11 in the morning local time on a Sunday in Caracas, nowhere is apparently showing a match in a faraway continent of a game that hardly interests them.
It was thus doubly disappointing that I could not support Ghana, and without my support the Black Stars lost 1-0 in a close match, where Egypt winning goal didn't come until the last minutes of the match.
Sad for the young Ghaneans who have had a great tournament, and who will surely be interesting to watch in South Africa this (southern) winter.
Egypt, the champions of Africa for the third consecutive time will not be in South Africa, and we can thank Algeria for that!
No matter what, I have learned from this that (1) I need to but my own TV with a cable subscription as soon as possible, and (2) that I will have to take my vacation and travel to a more favourable timezone for the World Cup!
A bad day, but nothing bad is not good for something.

Pounding Nigerian fufu!

I was unable to watch Ghana-Nigeria in the semifinal of the African Nations Cup, but sitting in my office in Caracas I followed the match online as Ghana pounded some Nigerian fufu!! I was delighted about Ghana's victory, wishing I was back in Ghana! As an old Ghanaian friend used to say, I was "happy like a Christmas Chicken!"

The 1-0 victory on a goal by Asamoah Gyan (who after also scoring the winner against Angola is turning into the great saviour for the Black Stars) was apparently hard-fought with the Wigan goalie Richard Kingson playing a great match that brought Ghana to the final
Still, Ghana's victory is amazing and augurs well for the World Cup, since Ghana is playing without some of its usual starters: Chelsea's Michael Essien, Inter's Sulley Muntari, Bologna's Stephen Appiah, Fulham's John Paintsil and Breda's dangerous striker Matthew Amoah have all been absent for different reasons, but the strength of Ghanaian football is now shown by the many (young) players that are able to take over.
Even with substitutes Ghana is one of the best teams of Africa!
And they may prove to be the best if they are hopefully able to kick the Egyptians back to the pyramids! (Egypt destroyed Algeria 4-0 in the other semifinal, getting some bitter revenge on being eliminated from the World Cup by the Algerians).
Go Black Stars!

Heading to South Africa

New Zealand and Nigeria qualified for the World Cup yesterday, but other countries also either made sure they are going to be in South Africa, or took steps to it.
In Africa Cameroon finally qualified with a 2-0 away victory over Morocco, and are now the African nation that has participated in most World Cups.
One of the most awaited matches was surely Egypt-Algeria in Cairo. The match ended with a late Egyptian 2-0 goal that will force a re-match in Sudan on Wednesday, to decide which of the two will be going to the World Cup. According to some sources, before the match in Cairo, the Algerian team was attacked by Egyptian hooligans, and it seems the match was played in a very intimidating atmosphere. FIFA should certainly consider some sort of punishment for the Egyptians if this proves correct - these things don't belong in a World Cup participant!
In San José, Uruguay managed an important 0-1 victory against Costa Rica that puts them only one step away from South Africa, while in Europe, the four play-off matches left nothing for sure. Portugal barely managed to defeat an unlucky Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0, while Greece and Ukraine tied 0-0 in what sounds like a bore of a match.
Russia pressed and pressed for goals against Slovenia, but leading 2-0 gave away a late goal that can prove crucial for the next match on Wednesday in Ljubljana. France on the other hand seems to have taken a gigantic step with a 1-0 away victory against Ireland in Dublin with a goal of the ever-present Nikolas Anelka.
By next Wednesday we will know all the participants in the 2010 World Cup!

World Cup play-off matches

The last entries for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be decided this week, and there are some very interesting encounters.
In Europe, FIFA changed the rules on seeding teams shortly before the play-off draw, giving the "big" teams a better chance at qualifying. The power of money and politics, but hopefully the underdogs can manage some upset in some of the following European play-off matches:

• Portugal-Bosnia Herzegovina
• France-Ireland
• Greece-Ukraine
• Russia-Slovenia

In Wellington, New Zealand will be taking on Bahrain in the second leg of the Asia-Oceania play-off match. The first leg ended 0-0 and the Kiwis are now looking towards their second World Cup participation, their first being in 1982.

In San José, Costa Rica will be playing the two-times world champions of Uruguay in the first leg of the CONCACAF-South America play-off match. The South Americans are probably looking for a good result before receiving the Costa Ricans in Montevideo. However, Uruguay has been known to underestimate visiting teams before, something that missed them their qualification in 2006.

Finally, the last African teams will be decided: In the CAF group A, Cameroon and Gabon will fight for the first spot in their away matches against Morocco and Togo respectively. Cameroon is currently leading the group by one point.
Tunisia is leading CAF group 2 by two points ahead of Nigeria. The Nigerians will be playing Kenya away, and must win, but a the same time must hope that Tunisia does not defeat Mozambique in Maputo.
Perhaps the most thrilling encounter of all will take place in Cairo, where the two North African giants Egypt and Algeria will be clashing in CAF group C. The first match in Algiers ended 3-1 for Algeria, so Egypt needs to win by more than two goals to qualify for the World Cup. In case of a victory by two, the teams will be completely equal on the table, and a play-off match will take place then. But be sure that the Algerians will fight for the first spot in the intimidating atmosphere of Cairo! This match is PG-13!

Some conclusions on this Confederations Cup

The Confederations Cup has ended with a great match between Brazil and the surprising US, and I guess it is time for some conclusions:

• I have to admit that the tournament was not such a bore as I had initially predicted it would be. There were some very dramatic matches, surprises and good goals, promising well for the World Cup. However, I would insist that quality is generally low.
• Refereeing was good, but still, FIFA refuses to introduce use of visual aids for the matches, something that could surely improve refereeing. In the final, Kaká scored a goal that only TV saw in. A minimum could be the introduction of goal-referees?
• Spain is not as good as we (or they) thought. Although they are now the most unbeat team in history, they displayed some of their traditional tournament weaknesses in this tournament: not playing to level when it counted against teams they should be far superior to.
• USA is better than everyone thought, confirming the upward trend of US football over the years. I don't understand why anyone would still underestimate them after a World Cup quarterfinal in 2002!? No matter my personal view on it, the US is a football power, and many new young players will be supplemented by some of the more experienced players that didn't play in this tournament. On Danish TV last night, Ove Christensen said that the US should be considered outsiders for the title next year, and I totally agree.
• Italy's World Champions had a poor show, and the team needs renewal and spirit. They no longer seem to be up to defend their title next year, and the performances against Egypt and Brazil were simply pathetic.
• Brazil was outstanding, and it seems that Dunga has managed to incite the ever-talented Brazilians to play as a solid team, confident of their individual abilities and true to their status as the mightiest football nation in the universe.
• Egypt had charm and good players, but showed poor discipline and no winner mentality like the USA. It is no loss at all that they will not be at the World Cup next year.
• New Zealand doesn't belong at this level, while Iraq seems on its way up, but won't be at the World Cup anyway.

More specifically in regard to the World Cup:

• This was a test for South Africa, and they largely passed it, making it to the semifinals, where they played a fine game against Brazil, and an entertaining third-place match against Spain, although this latter match is pretty useless for both. I still believe that South Africa will be the weakest host in the history of World Cup football - they are a rugby nation!
• The rugby nation status was seen with the state of the pitches, that were generally in a much poorer state than is expected from a World Cup...
• There was some amusing discussion on the vuvuzela, horns used by South African fans during the matches, that sound like a long mosquito buzz. It certainly sounds horrible, but banning them would be ridiculous, and is outright hipocritical considering the many instruments used in other parts of the world! Of course football fans have the right to make all the noise they want!
• At least if the vuvuzela can make South Africans more interested in the World Cup... Stadiums were not full, and FIFA had to give away tickets to boost attendance. Well, South Africa is a cricket-nation, so it should not surprise.

So all in all, the tournament turned out better than I had thought. Still, I believe that South Africa was the wrong choice to host the World Cup.

Confederations Cup semifinals

Brazil destroyed Italy's world champions 3-0 last night, and thus prevented us from seeing a dramatic semifinal between the eternal rivals of Italy and Spain. The world champions are out, and the United States surprisingly took the spot in the semifinal against Spain by defeating Egypt 3-0.
Egypt were a huge disappointing after their first two extraordinary matches against Brazil and Italy, and one would have them suspected of falling in the common trap of excited arrogance that often affects small teams that manage to pull off good results against bigger teams, but then flop against smaller ones.
With the two semifinals being Brazil-South Africa and Spain-USA, things should be set for a super final between Spain and Brazil, that would see some of the best players in the world, and surely a prelude to a world cup classic!
That is, if neither Spain or Brazil messes it up, because that would be the only reason that they don't defeat such second-rate teams as South Africa or the USA.

FIFA prohibits video refereeing

In the match between Brazil and Egypt, an Egyptian player made a save on the line in the last minute of the match. Initially, the referee called a corner, but apparently, after his 4th referee called his attention, called the penalty kick, whereby Brazil won on a goal by Kaká. This was the just thing, and should show that TV images are useful for referees.
However, after protests by Egypt, FIFA has denied that video images of the situation influenced the referee, and has instead stated that all TV screens near the box are to be outlawed in this Confederations Cup.
What a sad day for all football fans, fair football teams, and for all referees who want to be as just as possible...
When something unjust, illegal, and unfar happens, isn't it in the interest of everyone to find out!? And if technology can help to improve this, without interrupting the flow and beauty of the match, shouldn't this be the way to go!?!?
I understand that we shouldn't call TV for every penalty, but this is not necessary - in most matches no situation calls for it, and in a few matches, only one situation does, like the situation was the case in the Brazil-Egypt match, and it didn't interrupt the flow of the game, but gave the match a more fair result!
It is a pity, a shame, that FIFA does not even want to test this. I think it can only be in the interest of FIFA to have as fair a match as possible.
Why not use the opportunities at hand? Why not help the referees to be better? Why not create a more fair game?
It would be for the best of the most beautiful game on the planet. FIFA's apparent intransigence on this is a hindrance to a better game.

2009 Confederations Cup

It will be a quiet summer with no Euro or World Cup. The only rather meager replacement will be the 2009 Confederations Cup to be held in South Africa as the prelude to next years' World Cup. It is the time for th South Africans to show that they are really up for this, although the World Cup is at a completely different level.
Nevertheless there are some interesting matches in this tournament that has consistently improved since its start as King Fahd Cup in 1992. Most participant countries, notably Spain, are going to South Africa with their strongest team, but also Brazil, Italy, USA and Egypt are showing up with strong teams. Add to this the South African hosts who will want to give their team a good preparation for the World Cup, as well as New Zealand and the 2007 Asian champions, Iraq.
The groups are as follows:

Group A:

• South Africa
• Iraq
• New Zealand
• Spain

Group B:

• Brazil
• Egypt
• USA
• Italy

Although not to be very exciting, it will surely be interesting to see some of the teams play.

Egypt: African Champions

Although living in Africa, I didn't have the opportunity to follow the African Cup in Ghana. Nevertheless, there weren't any surprises: defending champions again won the title with solid tactics and good players, while many other teams disappointed.
And stadiums were empty, and there were accusations of corruption: African football may be advancing in many areas, but still has a long way to go.

Don't miss it: The African Nations Cup 2008

The African Nations Cup is starting on January 2008 in Ghana. It is bound to be an interesting spectacle, with some intense clashes in the Ghanaian heat and humidity, but I would not expect too much in level of quality: while there are many top players who perform in top clubs in Europe, quality in these types of national tournaments is far below what is seen in top clubs nowadays (with the World Cup being an example).
Nevertheless, with the intensity and nationalism these tournaments engender, it is not to be missed. Also, with the next World Cup 2010 being held in South Africa, it will be interesting to see the way the teams perform.
The groups with the 16 teams are as follows:

• Group A: Ghana, Namibia, Guinea, Morocco
• Group B: Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire
• Group C: Tunisia, Angola, South Africa, Senegal
• Group D: Egypt, Sudan, Zambia, Cameroon

Obviously there are already in the first round some interesting matches!
In group A, the hosts of Ghana, supported by passionate fans, will be expecting nothing else but success at home.
Group B will see giants Nigeria and last cup's finalists Cote d'Ivoire in an interesting West African group, where Mali should be considered some serious outsiders with many very experienced players from European top clubs.
Group C sees some giants of African football, Tunisia and Senegal, with the South Africans, who will desperately be looking for success before the 2010 World Cup, and the new interesting Angolan side, who did so well in the 2006 World Cup.
Finally, group D will see Egypt, defending champions from 2006, and a Cameroonian side, led by Samuel Eto'o, who will be looking for the success they otherwise have the team for!
Don't miss it!!!