Thursday, June 12, 2014
BEST WORLD CUP MOMENTS IN AFRICA- good-luck to all the African teams!
African teams have come a long way since Egypt became the first African country to participate in the second edition of the tournament which was held in 1934. Eighty years later, five teams (Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria) will be representing the continent, only this time, we are hoping for yet another first; that an African team will bring back the much coveted Cup to Africa for the very first time.
Cameroon
will set the ball rolling for Africa in Brazil on Friday when they take on Mexico. The Indomitable Lions will be playing in Group
A in the World Cup with hosts Brazil, Mexico, and Croatia, the group which consists of host nation will prove to be interesting.
Best
World Cup moment: World Cup 1990, Cameroon became the first African
team to reach the quarter finals of the World Cup in 1990 in their
second World Cup appearance, they lost to England in extra time. One
of their best moments aside from Roger Milla's spectacular goal that
sent them to the quarter-finals was in the opening match in the 1990
WC when Francois Omam-Biyik's goal help them beat reigning champions
Argentina in Milan.
Ivory Coast are billed to play against Japan on June 14 in their Group C where they will be battling it out against Japan, Greece, and Colombia. The African favorites were recently replaced by Algeria in FIFA' s World ranking for Africa, but with players such as Yaya Toure, and legendary striker Didier Drogba, The Elephants are bound to make it pass the first round in the tournament.
Best World Cup moment: Qualifying for their very first World Cup in 2006, the Elephants also qualified for the 2010 World Cup, they however have not been able to go beyond the group stages, third time is always a charm, we'll see.....
Ghana
will on June 16th play against U.S.A in Group G of the World Cup which
includes Ghana, U.S.A, Germany and Portugal. The Black Stars of Ghana
are hoping to recoup from their last ordeal in the 2010 World Cup
where they made it to the quarterfinals, however, Uruguayan player, Suarez denied the Black stars the chances of reaching the
Semi-finals when he deliberately handled a goal bound effort.
Best
World Cup Moment: First World Cup appearance in 2006. After
struggling for several years, the Black Stars finally made it to the
World Cup in 2006, and they eventually became the only African team
to make it to the second round in the tournament. However, their best
performance still remains their 2010 performance where they made it
to the quarterfinals of the competition.
Nigeria's Super Eagles will kick-off their World Cup campaign on June 16 against Iran in their Group F which also features the very great team Argentina as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. No doubt, the current African champions have their reputation to protect as this is only their 5th World Cup appearance since they first qualified for the World Cup in USA 1994.
Best World Cup moment: In their first appearance in the World Cup, Super Eagles legend, the late Rashidi Yekini scored the first goal for Nigeria in the tournament in 1994 against Bulgaria. Yekini had a very emotional goal celebration, the Nigerian striker went into the net and let of tears of joy. #amazing. Still in amazing celebrations, current assistant coach of the Super Eagles Daniel Amokachi also celebrated his goal against Greece in their third match in the 1994 WC with a very unique disco move.
Algeria,
the north African nation will take on Belgium on June 17th
in their World Cup Group H which will also feature South Korea and
Russia in their 4th World Cup appearance. With FIFA'
s recent ranking which places Algeria on the number spot in Africa,
we are hoping they live up to their recent feat.
Best
World Cup Moment: In their first World Cup in 1982, the debutants
shocked everyone with their 2-1 win over reigning European
champions West Germany.
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