The German machine

When I was a kid (West) Germany were a side that were impossible to like. A  machine of admittedly great players who nevertheless played a type of football that lacked soul and would use any means to win, and in general it always worked to their advantage. Germany always won.

Since 2006 it has been different, and crowned by their fantastic 2014 World Champions. But Germany seems to have been struggling with its footballing identity since then. Germans expect to win, and poor results are generally seen as a deep crisis. Expectations to this tournament appear to have been limited, but the team has started with two victories; firstly destroying Curacao 7-1, and now defeating Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 in a match where I found myself supporting the West Africans more and more as the match advanced.

First half the Ivorians were much better and they were leading 0-1 on a goal by the veteran Franck Kessie, who after his long career in Europe is now at Al Ahli. The match flowed well nevertheless, as Germany had a couple of goals cancelled for fouls on the determined Ivorian defenders. In the second half Germany pushed forward and were open for counterattacks where Cote d'Ivoire made some terrible misses that in the end proved fatal. 

The big change for Germany was a triple substitution by Nagelmann: Musiala, Sane and Pavlovic were substituted for Deniz Undav, Jamie Leweling and Nadiem Amiri. These three players changed the team entirely, and it was only eight minutes later that the Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav equalised on a set up by Nadiem Amiri. Pressure continued, and in the 94th minute Germany did what Germany always used to do: a ball into the area was controlled by Undav, who turned quickly and scored Germany's winner with a hard shot. 

Undav has six matches on the national team and six goals, and perhaps should be considered the starter for next matches.

Germany always wins in football, and with this goal we must start thinking of them as candidates for the title, since this is the German machine that we all know from before. It is likely that they will defeat a terribly disappointing and playing Ecuador side in the last group match.

Two matches today

 Two matches stood out for me today:

- Japan-Netherlands 2-2: Two of the sides we are looking forward to in the World Cup did not disappoint. Netherlands were dominating much of the match, but the Japanese were dangerous in their patience. Even though the Dutch went ahead after steady pressure, it was somewhat clear that the Japanese were never going to let the Europeans win. The Netherlands will likely win the group, but Japan will likely get far.

- Côte d’Ivoire-Ecuador: It was 0-0 for too long in a match that could have had many goals between two different styles of football. The Ecuadorians hit the post twice in the first half with their technical style, but the Ivorians were patient and much better physically. Manchester United’s Amad Diallo gave them a late victory that was painful for the South Americans, but also makes the following matches incredibly exciting, following the German thrashing of Curaçao.

Top 10 Best Football Teams of 2015

There have been many great football teams in 2015. The following is what I consider the ten best teams of 2015:

10) Australia: Although not heard much about, Australia took the Asian football championship at home this year.
9) Sevilla: Again the south Spaniards took the Europa League title. They are among the best in Spain, although far from contesting the title. In the Champions League they ended trailing behind Manchester City and Juventus, but that means they will be defending their Europa League title in 2016.
8) Bayern Munich: The south Germans continue to be among the best in the world, leading in the Bundesliga and favourites to go all the way in the Champions League.
7) Juventus: They dominated in Italy in the first half of the year, and upset Real Madrid to make it to the Champions League final, where only mighty Barcelona stood on the way. They have been weaker after the great Andrea Pirlo left for the USA, but continue fighting for the Italian title and the Champions League title.
6)  River Plate: The winners of the Copa Libertadores also made it to the final of the Club World Cup, where Barcelona defeated them. That said, they showed that they have some of the best fans in the world!
5) Serbia U-20: The Serbian youths were surprise winners of the 2015 u-20 World Cup in New Zealand, defeating Brazil in the final. It augurs well for the future of Serbian football!
4) Cote d'Ivoire: The Ivorians finally won the Africa Cup of Nations that has been eluding them for many years in a final against Ghana.
3) Chile: Chile hosted a highly competitive Copa America and for the first time ever took the title in a final against their Argentine neighbours.
2) FC Barcelona: The Catalonians have only become better in 2016, winning everything in Spain, the Champions League, and lastly the World Club Cup. They are leading the Spanish league at the end of 2016 with a scoring record of 40 goals, 35 of which have been scored by their attacking trio of Suarez, Neymar and Messi.
1) USA: With a fantastic World Cup in Canada women's football showed that it is fully at the level of Men's football when it comes to national team football (there may be more differences at Club level). The tournament was at least as good as the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, culminating in a splendid final between USA and Japan. USA were amazing, winning 5-2, and in particular Carly Lloyd's performance should pass into World Cup History. With this, USA's Women's side is in my view, the best football team of 2015!

Monrovia traffic warning

Last week, at 7 AM, I was on my way to work in Monrovia. I usually pass by the Antoinette Tubman Stadium, but on this day, at that very early hour, the road was closed, causing an enormous traffic jam as cars were being re-directed around the stadium. The same happened in the afternoon, when closed roads led to more chaotic traffic congestions in the narrow pot-holed streets of downtown Monrovia.
The reason? At 4 PM Liberia were playing their first round World Cup qualifier against Guinea Bissau.
The match ended on a disappointing 1-1 for the Liberian fans, and before the away leg, I almost hoped that Liberia would be eliminated in order to avoid another agonizingly frustrating traffic jam.
But fortunately, there will soon be another traffic jam.
To many people's surprise, Liberia took a 1-3 victory in the away match against Guinea Bissau, with three goals by William Jebor, a 23-year old who is currently in the second Spanish Division club Ponferradina. Five goals in five matches for Liberia is not a bad statistic!
Liberia will now be facing none other than the African champions from Cote d'Ivoire! Also their neighbours, this has all the ingredients to be a dramatic match as the Liberians, highly motivated, will go for the upset!
Do not miss it! And plan for heavy traffic in Monrovia for November 12th!

The African final I will miss

I have traveled to a Colombia where all the football discussion is about James Rodriguez' injury and about Chelsea's signing of Juan Cuadrado. As Colombians hardly know Africa, the interest for the African Cup of Nations is hardly noticed. As I left Liberia Ghana had strolled to the semi-finals to face the Equatorial Guinean hosts. I had been telling some Colombians about the exciting tournament, but I am now embarrassed to have praised it: while Ghana were great and beat the hosts 3-0, the Equatorial Guinean hosts were a disgrace to football, causing riots and attacking the Black Stars and their fans. 

Another disgrace to African football.

Ghana are now in the final of a tournament that they have been favourites to win for more than ten years, but have failed to since 1982. They will face the mighty Ivory Coast, another side that has been steadily disappointing for a decade or longer, and who won their last African Cup of Nations in 1992; against Ghana!

So whatever happens on Sunday, one side will emerge from the sea of disappointments, while another will need a life vest.

In the meantime I will not be able to watch it, as I enjoy beautiful Colombia, but with my heart supporting Ghana!

The lucky last quarterfinalist

Yesterday Group D in the Africa Cup of Nations was decided: with Ivory Coast beating Cameroun 1-0, they won the group. But in the other match Guinea and Mali tied 1-1. This was the third 1-1 tie for each of them, and meant a draw would decide the quarterfinalist.
Guinea won, and will be excited to face Ghana in their next match, where Ghana will undoubtedly be the great favourite.
This must leave a bitter taste in Mali's participation, and one has to wonder whether there could not have been another better way of deciding this..?
Everyone knew that the teams were head to head when the matches ended yesterday. So why could they not have played extra time? Or perhaps gone directly to a penalty contest? One can argue that these are as much lotteries, but are they not better than a simple draw?
Guinea cannot deny they are the luckiest of all teams in the Africa Cup of Nations, no matter who wins!

Yet another Ivorian debacle

It seemed that Ivory Coast had it all in their hands to follow Colombia to the last-16 of the World Cup. Colombia did their part, defeating any possible Japanese threat 4-1, so everything was up to the Ivorians against a Greek side that had not scored a goal, and had played the kind of football that is easy to forget.

But beware of Greece; they work hard, are solid in the back, and in Georgios Samaras have an experienced and classy striker. And the Greeks did what they had to do against an Ivorian side without pace or commitment. A side that disappointed in 2006, 2010, and were apparently not mentally prepared not to disappoint. 

Cote d'Ivoire are a better team, player for player, than Greece. But that is not what football is about. Greece played as a team, with heart and commitment, and that gave them the 2-1 victory where Georgios Samaras kept his head cool in a last minute penalty.

Against all odds, Greece are in the last-16 where they will face another sensation, Costa Rica.

Either Greece or Costa Rica are among the best eight in the world. Nobody expected that.

In the meantime, one of Africa's hopes has disappointed the world yet again.

Colombian delight

The expectations to Colombia are growing. Last night they won a difficult match against a difficult opponent. Very equal in the first half, one had the feeling the match could go to either side. In the end Colombia won 2-1, in the second goal by Juan Quintero they punished a defensive blunder by the Ivorians reminescent of Spain's defense. Great teams are the ones who do not let free opportunities go by. colombia is proving a great side.

Colombia is in the last 16 after Japan and Greece tied. Expectations will be growing. And that will be the biggest enemy of Colombia, who have difficulty in handling the pressure, mostly from their own fans. But I hope they will, as I continue to wear my Colombia shirt.

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!

Another Ivorian downer

In the last years the Ivory Coast has been one of the most hyped African teams. And with reason: headed by Didier Drogba the team has one of the strongest teams of experienced players in the best European leagues. But again and again they have disappointed. South Africa 2013 has been no exception. Today they lost 2-1 in the quarterfinals against a Nigeria that has been criticized throughout the tournament, but that has been growing stronger and stronger throughout the tournament. Emmanuel Emenike's opening goal was a thunderous kick and Sunday Mba's winning goal should put the locally-based player in the radar of European sides.
under coach Stephen Kechi. Stephen Kechi created discussion last year when he criticized African football for hiring European (white) coaches rather than qualified African coaches. The way Nigeria played today against French coach Sabri Lamouchi's Ivorian side, he must be delighted to prove his point.
Nigeria will now face Mali in another all-West African semi-final (the other being Burkina Faso-Ghana), and surely Nigeria must be considered as a candidate for the title now!

African Quarterfinals

With the time difference I have not had much chance to watch the Africa Cup of Nations. A couple of days ago I saw Nigeria's two penalty victory against Ethiopia in Group C that put the giants in the next round. Nigeria is eager for a success that has eluded the African giants for years, but their team is not looking that strong. The real surprise in group C was Burkina Faso. With 0-0 against the defending champions of Zambia they both won the group and eliminated the champions, an admirable feat, and it will be interesting to see them in the quarterfinals, where they will be up against Togo, while Nigeria will have it difficult against the favourites of Ivory Coast.
As expected Ivory Coast won their group D ahead of the Togolese. For Togo a 1-1 tie with Tunisia in their last match was enough, given Tunisia's bad score against the Ivorians.
My unapologetically favourite side is Ghana, whom I really hope to see lift the trophy. They were efficient in winning their group B, and will now face one of the surprise teams of the tournament, namely Cape Verde.  They were followed by Mali, a country with a strong team and full of hope given the difficult situation in the country. Mali will have it difficult in the next round as they will face the South African hosts, who won their group A. South Africa has not looked strong though, and that will be Mali's chance.
As mentioned, Cape Verde were a surprise. After ties against South Africa and Morocco, a 91st minute goal by Heldon Ramos put them in the quarterfinals in their first African Cup of Nations ever, a great feat by the small island nation!
The quarterfinals this weekend look as follows:

• South Africa-Mali
• Ghana-Cape Verde
• Ivory Coast-Nigeria
• Burkina Faso-Togo

Ghana on the way

I have unfortunately not had much chance of watching the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Not just because I miss the vuvuzelas, but also because of the great teams playing!
A few days ago I managed to watch a shaky Ivory Coast side defeat Togo 2-1 on a late goal by Gervinho. While Togo had deserved better, the Ivorians must surely up their game if they are not to be disappointed yet again in a big tournament, which looks to be the great Didier Drogba's last one!
My favourite team, as always, is Ghana. Again, I am full of hope that this time the Black Stars can go all the way, and show that if anyone, the title belongs to them, as the African team that did best in the last World Cup.
Ghana started with 2-2 against DR Congo, in a match where they were up 2-0, and did not manage to hold on. Today they were up against a strong and highly motivated Mali side that surely had the capacity to shake the Ghanaians. It was not a fantastic match. The Ghanaians played disciplined, fought hard, and defended very well after they got ahead 1-0 on a penalty taken by Wakaso. Mali tried, but in vain against the strong Ghanaians.
It wasn't pretty, but it worked, and Ghana is not first in the group with 4 points, and has Niger in their last match, which they should win.
Go Black Stars!

Delight for Super Zambia!

Zambia's sensational African Cup of Nations has just ended with emotional glory when they defeated the huge favourites Côte d'Ivoire in an intense final in Libreville! Like everyone in the stadium (except the Ivorians), I also got carried away by the glorious spirit, fight, and the memory of the 1994 team that died in Gabon. I really wanted to see Zambia win, and was tense throughout the nailbiting penalty shootout that took them to a seventh penalty!

Be sure to see some of these great players in the Europeans league soon!

The Ivorians went through the tournament without conceding a goal, but at the same time, three of their greatest players did not step up when it counted; Drogba missed a penalty during the match, and the misses in the shootout were by other stars, Kolo Touré and Gervinho.

The disappointment of the Ivorians must be enormous, as this represents another disappointment for a team with everpresent expectations.

It has been a truly great African Cup of nations, and Zambia's triumph makes it all the more memorable.

Glorious Zambia, and I wish I were in Lusaka now!

Zambia in the final

It is hard not to have sympathy for Zambia's football team: in the 80s and early 90s they were an important part of the African football awakening that was to take the world by storm right until 1993, when the entire team was killed in an air disaster when heading to a World Qualifier. While in 1994 they made it to the African Nations Cup final, they still never fully recovered from the tragedy.
Now, Zambia is in the African Nations Cup final yet again after defeating Ghana 1-0 in the semifinal. While I was unapologetic in supporting the Black Stars, one cannot help having the sympathy for the Zambians who fought well and with a bit of always-necessary luck managed to defeat the favorites of Ghana.
Zambia will be facing Cote d'Ivoire in the final on Sunday.

Ghana and Algeria in the semifinal!

There were two major surprises in the African Cup quarterfinals today.
In the first one, the home side of Angola were surprisingly eliminated by Ghana, who without their star Michael Essien managed a somewhat fortunate and hard-fought 1-0 victory on a goal by Stade Rennais' Asamoah Gyan. Ghana is set to play the winner of Zambia-Nigeria, and a match against their West African rivals Nigeria would surely be a drama!
Go Ghana!

The other quarterfinal saw an even greater surprise as Ivory Coast was eliminated by the interesting Algerians in a dramatic match: in the last minute of the match Ivory Coast went ahead 2-1 on a truly spectacular goal by Galatasaray's Kader Keita. But in the dying seconds of the match Algeria threw everything forward, and managed to equalize by the big Glasgow Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra. The match went into extra time, and Hamer Bouazza from Blackpool scored the winner for the Algerians.
Algeria are surprise qualifers for the World Cup in South Africa, and are not considered to have a chance against England, the USA and Slovenia. But surely these teams should be watching the Algerians!
Algeria will surely have a difficult semifinal as they will face the winner of Egypt-Cameroon. The Egyptians will surely want to show that they are the better team after Algeria elminiated them from the World Cup, prompting a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. However, with today's result Algeria have proven that they are indeed a match for any team! Look out for Algeria!

Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana

I cannot hide my subjective preference for Ghana, having lived there for many years, and seeing their progress to become one of the top African footballing nations, whom I have before said are the most likely candidate for an African finalist. However, after watching Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana last night in the African Cup of Nations, I must regrettably back off on this assertion, as Côte d'Ivoire were far superior to Ghana, and winning 3-1 was totally deserved (and it should have been 3-0 as the referee gave an unexistant penalty to Ghana in the last seconds of the match). Even when down to 10 men, Ghana was unable to put pressure on the Ivorian defense organised around an outstanding Kolo Touré. And in attack the Ivorians simply have what the Ghaneans lack: good strikers.
In the 2006 World Cup Ghana were a huge positive surprise (and I was delighted to be in Ghana myself), but many forgot that the Ghana side had one of the lowest shots-to-goal averages of all the teams in the tournament, displaying a horrible inefficiency. After seeing Ghana last night I am afraid that Ghana is still suffering from this, in spite of having an outstanding team otherwise....
I hope I am wrong, but I now believe a little less in Ghana for the world cup in South Africa.

Sadness

It is very sad when the beauty of football and football passion leads to such a tragedy as what happened in Côte d'Ivoire in a World Cup qualifier against Malawi in Abidjan this weekend.
It is a great tragedy that such events overshadow the fact that Côte d'Ivoire is a fantastic football nation with great footballers and great fans, and this should be decried by all fans all over.
That said, something should be done about such catastrophes that seem to happens too often, the result of mismanagement and corruption (and I won't say poverty, because the people who are responsible are not poor).
Also, in spite of my scepticism against the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, I am certain that such events could never take place in South Africa, and that when someone draws parallels to the coming world cup there, it is just a confirmation of stereotypes about "all Africans are the same."

African Cup Finalists: Egypt and Ivory Coast

I have not been following the African Cup with an overly keen interest after Ghana's disappointing exit. But after some great quarterfinals and semifinals, I certainly believe we can look forward to a very good final next Friday, between two of the best teams of the tournament: Home team Egypt against the World Cup bound Ivory Coast.

The Ivorians are in the final after an intense quarterfinal against Cameroon (which was won 12-11 after penalty kicks. Eto'o missed the last penalty for Cameroon, ending in shame a great tournament. I only wonder if he will be treated as Wome was...), and a narrow 1-0 victory against Nigeria in the semifinal. Didier Drogba has been a leading player on the Ivorian side, and he also scored the lone goal against Nigeria.

I am not surprised Egypt is in the final. The home team, "the Pharaohs", have been strong all the way, pushed forward by a wonderful crowd of fans. They easily dispatched Congo 4-1 in the quarterfinal, but had more problems in the semifinal. Senegal put up a great fight, and Egypt looked like a team falling apart when Senegal equalized on a beautiful header. Then, Egyptian coach Hassan Shehata showed himself as a super-star coach: with ten minutes to go, he replaced the Egyptian star Mido with a Amr Zaki. Mido left in disgrace, furious; he almost hit his coach. Mido had not played a good match, and the change proved a brilliant move. Amr Zaki had some magical 10 minutes on the pitch, scoring the winning goal for Egypt.

Great players respect their coach's decision and show restraint. Mido's reaction to his substitution just shows he is not such a player. If I was coach, I would not let him play the final.

In the group stages Egypt already defeated Ivory Coast 3-1. However, the Egyptians should certainly not feel comfortable because of that. The Ivorians are very strong, and will surely do all they can to spoil any party in Egypt on Friday.

More teams heading for the World Cup 2006

Yesterday, a number of new teams joined the already qualified, to book their tickets for Germany 2006.

All the African teams are ready:

• Ghana: It was just a formality for the strong Ghanaians to ascertain their participation, by destroying Cape Verde. Go Ghana!
• Togo: Most Europeans probably hardly know where Togo is... But they won their group ahead of the popular Senegalese from the 2002 World Cup, and shall not be underestimated.
• Côte d'Ivoire: A very strong team, with Chelsea star Didier Drogba in front. They had some luck in the last game though, as Cameroun missed a last minute penalty against Egypt at home, that gave the spot away to the Ivorians.
• Angola: Another newcomer that won the group ahead of the strong Nigerians; they will surely be interesting to watch in Germany.
• Tunisia: The defending African Champs got their spot with a 2-2 at home against Morocco.

In South America, Argentina and Brazil were joined by two teams:

• Ecuador: With 0-0 in Quito against Uruguay, the Ecuatorians have made it to their second world cup in a row. In 2002, they were out in the first round, but after defeating a strong Croatian side.
• Paraguay: After defeating Venezuela away 1-0, they will be participating in their 7th world cup, third in a row.

There is still a strong fight for the fifth spot in South America, which gives a play-off match against Australia. The contenders are Uruguay, Colombia and Chile. I will not hide my strong sympathy for Colombia, who will be facing Paraguay in Asuncion on Wednesday.

In Europe, Germany and Ukraine have been joined by six teams:

• Netherlands: With an impressive 2-0 victory in Prague, the Orange machine (and their great fans) will be a welcome nation in Germany.
• Italy: The Italians are now qualified with a typical 1-0 victory against Slovenia.
• Portugal: Maybe the Portuguese were not out for revenge against little Liechtenstein (after their 2-2 in October 2004, Liechtenstein's first point ever!), so although their 2-1 home-victory may seem meager, it still booked them tickets for Germany.
• Poland: The Poles were already mathematically qualified, and they did not play yesterday. They still have one match against England, to fight for the first spot of the group.
• England: With a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Austria, the English are mathematically qualified, at least as one of the best runner-ups. Next Wednesday's match against Poland is about the honour of who wins the group.
• Croatia: Their third World Cup in a row, after defeating the strong Swedes 1-0 in Zagreb.

Sweden and Serbia-Montenegro are both only one step away from qualifying. In the meantime, France is having difficulties in Group 4, which is now being led by Israel. Other teams are struggling for the runner-up spots, and thus a play-off match: Turkey, Denmark, Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia, Russia, Romania, Czechia. All these teams still have a lot of sweat and hardship ahead of them...

In the Central- and North American zone, one new team joined the USA and Mexico:

• Costa Rica: The Ticos were an entertaining team in both 1990 and in 2002, and will be very welcome in Germany. They qualified last night after a resounding 3-0 victory against the USA in San Jose.

The number four of this zone, will get a play-off match against either Uzbekistan or Bahrain. It is now Trinidad and Tobago, closely followed by Guatemala.

The Uzbekistan-Bahrain match (which had to be re-played due to a strange referee decision) ended 1-1, so it still remains to be seen which of these four nations we will see in Germany. But it will certainly be a newcomer.

We now have 24 teams out of the 32 to go to Germany. Next Wednesday and Thursday, we will know a few more!

Cape Verde-Ghana

Before Ghana went into the last World Cup qualifier, there was still a theoretical chance they might not qualify: If Congo defeated South Africa, and Ghana lost by enough goals, Congo would be in instead of Ghana. But The Black Stars made no doubt as to which team belongs in Germany next year. In a great show of strength, Ghana destroyed Cape Verde 4-0. Their first world cup, and they will be a team to be reckoned with.

And Ghana is not the only West African place where there will be celebrations: with a 2-3 away win to Congo, Togo also qualified for their first World Cup. The same did Ghana's Western neighbor, Côte d'Ivoire, who benefitted from Cameroun's draw at home to Egypt.

Angola also qualified for their first World Cup ever, in a group ahead of the seasoned Nigerians. So there will be many new African teams in Germany next year, and they will be strong.