The Pride Of Africa- Black Stars March On

As Australia celebrates its unprecedented qualification for the second round, the continent of Africa has also been partying this week. Ivory Coast capped off a brilliant finals debut with a 3-2 win over the highly rated but ultimately disappointing Serbia & Montenegro. Surely they would not be flying home if drawn in any other group. They are the only side to have scored against Argentina, in fact the only side that has created decent goal-scoring opportunities against Argentina. Abidjan will be partying hard; no doubt the Elephants will receive a heroes' welcome. Angola fought hard throughout the competition and will go home with 2 points and a goal. For a side that was supposed to be the weakest at this tournament, they put up impressive displays including draws with more experienced opponents Mexico and Iran. A 1-0 loss to the flamboyant Portuguese is no embarassment either. The African champions Tunisia have one last chance to salvage something from a somewhat disappointing campaign against a rejuvenated Ukraine team. They had a poor draw against the frail Saudis but then came back strongly to lead 1-0 against Spain for over 70 minutes. Though they ultimately went down 3-1, their tactics were sound and they largely excecuted well; the superior skill and speed of the Iberians was ultimately the difference. They have one last chance to show that their dominance in Africa is not a fluke. Togo has its best chance to score a world cup upset against an understrength French team. Well they're only short two men, but one of them is Zizu....This is Togo's chance to put aside all their problems and gain something to show for their hard work in the qualifiers.

But when it comes to the second round, all of Africa will be cheering the Black Stars of Ghana. Again, the rub of the green has gone against Africa, with Ghana being pitted against world champions Brazil. But no Ghanaian will be complaining; in fact they will be relishing this contest. The Black Stars felt that they were on par with Italy but just unable to find the back of the net and hence, there will no shortage of confidence when they face their toughest challenge. The most impressive aspect of Ghana's three games to date has been their remarkable consistency in attack and defence. They have maintained their momentum through good and bad patches. They have displayed uncanny composure and relentlessly worn down their opponents, at least the Czechs and Americans. The ability to maintain discipline and precision and excecute the game plan for the full 90 minutes is a rare quality in an individual, let alone an entire team. The one glaring Ghanaian mistake was made by star defender Kuffour who gifted substitute Iaquinta with the matchwinning goal for Italy. He has since been dropped and his partner at the back John Mensah has doubled his workrate and looked completely untroubled ever since.

It was looking bleak for the Africans after their five teams managed only 1 point between them at the conclusion of the first round of group matches. But since then, Africa has collectively raised its workrate and proved that they deserve to host the world cup (in South Africa). Hopefully, in 2010 we will see all the stars of Africa- Cameroon and Nigeria (who narrowly missed out this time) as well as Ivory Coast, Ghana, South Africa and Angola. But before then, there is the small matter of Ghana vs Brazil in Dortmund on the 27th. An absolute must-see event which could prove to be the match of the 2nd round. Whilst all the other teams will tighten up and close down in midfield, Ghana will look to do more of what they have doing in the first three matches and Brazil, slowly building momentum, form and confidence, will look to take preparations one step further by attacking from all parts of the field. It is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining clashes of the tournament.......