Sunday begins the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Five African teams are involved. What are their chances of having a good run?
"African teams have great potential, have gained more and more experience, and they are ready to win the World Cup." This prophetic release is signed Samuel Eto'o. The head of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) seems very optimistic: he believes that Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon and Ghana will reach the round of 20 of the World Cup which will start on November XNUMX. More surprisingly, the former Indomitable Lions striker assures that his country will meet Morocco… in the final of the competition.
If Samuel Eto'o believes that "it's the African World Cup", the bookmakers are far from thinking, like him, that an African team can win a World Cup. Argentina, Germany, Brazil and even France are indeed better placed. This does not exclude, however, a good run for one of the five African selections engaged in Qatar. But what are the chances of seeing Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon or even Ghana come out of the group stages?
Senegal relies on injured Mané
Of course, Senegal, first African team in the FIFA rankings and winner of the last African Cup of Nations, will be one of the attractions of this World Cup. Problem: Sadio Mané's knee. The Senegalese was almost forfeited and may well not start the competition. The player is one of the most important in the national team and his poor form at the moment could well be detrimental to the Teranga Lions.
As for Cameroon, despite Samuel Eto'o's optimism, it is difficult to imagine an easy course. In his group, Rigobert Song's players will see some major obstacles stand in their way to the round of XNUMX: Serbia, Switzerland and above all... Brazil. It will take a real feat from the Cameroonians to qualify. But we have seen it since his arrival at the head of Fecafoot: Samuel Eto'o motivates his players and puts enormous pressure on them.
Tunisia believes in it, Morocco in a difficult group
On the side of Tunisia, optimism is also in order. Because the Eagles of Carthage will meet, in their group, the French team. And given the composition of the group of Didier Deschamps, the Tunisians firmly believe that they can bring down the Blues. But be careful not to underestimate Denmark, who will look like an outsider in this group.
Finally, Morocco is certainly the worst-off African team in terms of draw. Facing the Moroccans, the finalists of the last World Cup, the Croats, the Belgians or the Canadians will give Morocco a hard time.
Isn't there hope, finally, for Ghana? With a group consisting of South Korea, Portugal and Uruguay, Otto Addo's players are perhaps the African favorites in the competition. Although Ronaldo will certainly play his last major international competition and footballing greats Uruguay should never be underestimated, Ghana could well create a surprise.
Answer in a few days.