Revolution is now in African football

8 October 2005
by FIFAworldcup.com

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Saturday 8 October 2005 will go down as a key date in the history of African football. For on this final day of qualifying, four nations clinched their places at the FIFA World Cup™ finals for the first time. Courtesy of this wind of change, the flags of Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Angola will flutter proudly in German skies next summer.

Tonight, the scenes of mass hysteria in the streets of Lome, Accra, Abidjan and Luanda could scarcely contrast more starkly with the funereal mood gripping Dakar, Praia, Douala and Lagos. The verdict of the qualifiers may seem harsh to some, but the balance of power on the continent is clearly shifting.
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Group 1: Hawks soar towards new horizons
The duel for top spot between Togo and Senegal finally went the way of the former. Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor had promised his nation a victory in Brazzaville and he and his team-mates were as good as their word. Courtesy of a brace from Kader Toure in a stadium with a reputation as Congo’s fortress, the Hawks homed in on their FIFA World Cup perch.

Consequently, the goals scored by Henri Camara (2) and El-Hadji Diouf in a 3-0 defeat of Mali proved insufficient to take Senegal to a second FIFA World Cup. With seven wins, two draws and a defeat, Stephen Keshi's Togo finished top of Group 1 on 23 points, thereby demonstrating to any doubters that their qualification is well deserved.

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Group 2: Blacks Stars in limelight at last
For what seems like an eternity, the entire continent had been awaiting the day when Ghana, one of the leading nations in African football, would earn an invitation to football's greatest global gathering. Their wait is now over, as by triumphing 4-0 in the Cape Verde Islands the Blacks Stars have finally managed to avoid having their pockets picked at the last minute.

While a draw would have sufficed for Ratomir Dujkovic's men, they instead claimed a resounding victory in their opponents' back yard. Having dominated all of their Group 2 rivals throughout, the Ghanaians now reap their reward for their near-perfect campaign (six victories, three draws and a single defeat).

With a final tally of 21 points, they have left Congolese and South African FIFA World Cup dreams in ruins. And by cancelling each other out in a 2-2 draw, the Simbas and Bafana Bafana both ended up five points adrift of the deserved group winners.

Group 3: Elephants trumpeting with joy
Prior to this last day of qualifiers, even the most inveterate of gamblers would have thought twice about placing a bet on Côte d'Ivoire qualifying. Indeed, on the evening of their recent defeat by Cameroon, the tears of disappointment seemed sufficient to swell the country's Ebrie lagoon. Even as they romped to a 3-1 victory in Sudan, Didier Drogba and his team-mates could scarcely have imagined that Egypt would reopen their seemingly closed road to Germany.

But by snatching a 1-1 draw in Yaounde in the final minutes of their encounter with the Indomitable Lions, Egypt destroyed Cameroonian hopes of competing in a fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup. If Pierre Wome had converted the penalty awarded to his side in added time, Cameroon would have made it. Instead, the 'green tide' which had filled the terraces of the Ahidjo stadium remained rooted to the spot well after the final whistle, as if unable to take on board what had just happened.

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The image of an inconsolable Samuel Eto'o will no doubt remain forever etched in the darkest annals of Cameroon's football history. Justifiably proud at having out-roared the Lions, the Ivorian Elephants have already begun proclaiming themselves the new kings of the continent.

Group 4: Black Panthers show their claws Nigeria had been widely expected to emerge victorious from this group, but in the end, Angola held their nerve to qualify in their place. After keeping their fans in suspense for over an hour, their captain Akwa finally struck the goal that afforded them some precious breathing space. At the same time, a false rumour began to circulate on the terraces of Nigeria's Abuja National Stadium that the Angolans had lost to the Rwandan Wasps.

But with the final whistle came the painful truth, rendering the five goals scored by the Super Eagles immediately meaningless. This time around, they will have to follow the FIFA World Cup from their sofas.

Group 5: Fourth appearance for Carthage Eagles
Of the five African teams who took part in the last FIFA World Cup, only Tunisia will be repeating the feat on German soil next year. Roger Lemerre's men nonetheless suffered a few scares in their hotly-contested local derby with Morocco.

They were on the back foot almost immediately in fact, when Marouane Chamakh struck an opportunist goal for the visitors after just two minutes. Tunisia drew level thanks to Jose Clayton's penalty, but the Moroccans went in front a second time through Chamakh. The footballing gods were smiling on the Tunisians, however, and they sealed their ticket when Morocco captain Talal El-Karkouri netted an own goal.

The 2-2 draw was enough to keep Selim Benachour and Co at the top of Group 5, despite the luckless Atlas Lions managing to go the whole campaign without losing. As a result, the Carthage Eagles can now look forward to appearing in their third consecutive FIFA World Cup finals and fourth overall.

New order emerges
If Tunisia are old hands having first appeared at the FIFA World Cup in 1978, the quartet of newcomers from Africa suggests a new order has emerged and the supposed continental powerhouses have been its first victims. In the wake of their painful fall from grace, those nations need to realise quickly that tomorrow is another day. In the meantime, the football flame is burning brightest in some hitherto unfashionable corners of Africa.