World cup: african disappointment

Of the 5 African nations present in the world cup, none managed to qualify to the knockout round.

Fans from all countries that have participated are expressing their discontent; since the 80s we have been waiting for a powerful and historical performance from  an African team.

Egypt was the major disappointment: with his rising star Salah, finished the group stage with zero points, even losing its game with Saudi Arabia. Does the Ramadan fasting justify such a poor exhibition?

Tunisia had a difficult life as it was paired with England and Belgium. In any case, its presence won't miss it.

Morocco, despite having been last in the group, it was ble to put the Iberian neighbors under extreme difficulties, in all truth deserved better luck. It was the African group that played the most attractive football.

As for the "super eagles," they were also involved in a tough group. Once again they lost by the minimal difference with Argentina.  Maybe they deserved to go a little further, yet we were still expecting a little more from Nigeria.

Finally Senegal. It was almost on the knockout round, having been eliminated by the disciplinary criterion. As Senegal had more yellow cards than Japan, they were eliminated. It was the African country that was closer to qualifying, nevertheless it was frustrating as it had  the most accessible group.

In short, it was disappointing as we were expecting that at least one team reached the knockout round. 

So far the best performances belong to Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) reaching the quarterfinals.

It should be noted that the African participation in the 2026 World Cup will increase to nine participants due to the global enlargement of the competition.

Let's hope that by then the African continent will be able to improve its performances and organization, in part because the talent of the African player is not being questioned!

Miguel Verde