African Teams in the World Cup 2014 The African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank (ACIJ/JMB) is happy to highlight the African teams taking part in the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil. They are Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Côte dIvoire. Algeria Group H – Algeria will face Belgium on June 17th, Korea Republic on June 22nd and Russia on June 26th After an uneventful South Africa 2010 and 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria turned it all around in their bid to play in Brazil 2014. The team won five of six group matches easily gaining over Mali, Benin and Rwanda. Algeria’s final play-off round against Burkina Faso was lost 3-2 to a late penalty, but they won their place in Brazil with a professional 1-0 victory in Algeria in which they gained an advantage on away goals. In World Cup finals history, Algeria has played in three FIFA World Cup finals. Their best start was at the 1982 tournament in Spain at which they beating West Germany 2-1 in their opening game. A 3-2 victory over Chile in the final group game was undermined by an earlier 2-0 loss which led to their elimination on goal difference. In Mexico 1986 in Group D with Brazil, Spain and Northern Ireland, two defeats and a draw landed them at the bottom of the table. In South Africa 2010 facing England, USA and Slovenia, Algeria lost twice and left the competition without a goal to their name. Their key players include Madjid Bougherra who scored in the second leg against Burkina Faso. Sofiane Feghouli, the team’s exciting attacking midfielder, Medhi Lacen in front of the defence and Islam Slimani whose attack performances during qualifying was noted. Coach: Vahid Halilhodzic; Former stars: Lakhdar Belloumi, Rachid Mekhloufi, Mustapha Zitouni. National History, the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria gained independence on 3 July 1962, after 130 years of French rule. The country has weathered many battles including the National Liberation Fronts fight against the French colonial rule and the country’s current conflict between the military and Islamic militants. Nearly four times the size of Texas in the United States, Algeria is the largest country on the continent, Bordered to the west by Morocco and Western Sahara; to the east by Tunisia and Libya; with the Mediterranean Sea is to the north; Mauritania, Mali, and Niger to the south; 85% of the country lies in the Saharan region, which is almost completely uninhabited. Ghana Group G – Ghana will face Germany on June 21st and Portugal on June 26th Ghana faced the toughest competition of all the qualifying groups on the continent by winning five of six matches against 2012 African champions Zambia, Lesotho and Sudan. Their 1-0 defeat in Zambia was their only disappointment in a campaign in which they outscored opponents by 18 goals to three. Their inspiring performance landed them in the final play-off round against seven-time African champions Egypt but a final 6-1 win earned them a place in their third successive FIFA World Cup. In World Cup finals history, their dramatic FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 followed their victory over the Czech Republic and the USA before their elimination by Brazil in the second round. In 2010, Ghana was again the only African side to make it to the knockout rounds and also eclipsed Africa’s most memorable performances by beating the USA to advance to the quarter-finals. Ghana’s loss in a penalty kick shoot-out to Uruguay in the last minutes of the game was arguably the most dramatic of the tournament. Analysts expect Ghana will seek to reclaim a missed opportunity after Asamoah Gyan’s missed penalty kick denied them the glory of becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup. Their key players, Ghanas Black Stars boasts some of the better midfields in the world including veterans Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari and prime players such as Andre Ayew, Kwadwo Asamoah and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Asamoah Gyan is expected to be an important player in this tournament. Coach: Kwesi Appiah; Former stars: Abedi Pele, Samuel Kuffour, Ibrahim Sunday Best performances in a FIFA competition: FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 (Quarter-finals), FIFA U-17 World Cup Italy 1991, Ecuador 1995 (Winners), FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009 (Winners) National History, the Empire of Ghana was founded in 750 C.E. by West African tribes. Its capital was located in Koumbi Saleh, now the location of Mali and Mauritania. The economy was built on trade and gold mining in the trans-Saharan trade. The ancient empire grew and spread rapidly during its five hundred year long rule. Officially named the Republic of Ghana, this sovereign multinational state and has a unitary presidential constitutional democracy. Geographically located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the sub-region of West Africa in Africa, Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. Cameroon Group A – Cameroon will face Croatia on June 18th and Brazil on June 23rd Drawn alongside Libya, Congo DR and Togo, Cameroon survived the challenge with a 1-0 defeat of the Libyans in the final match that saw Cameroon finish with 13 points in six matches. In the final play-off round, they faced Tunisia and with a 4-1 home victory Cameroon is confident as they join the competition in Brazil. In World Cup finals history, Cameroon has done much for the reputation of African football as the Indomitable Lions who departed Spain in 1982 at the group stage undefeated, having drawn 0-0 with both Peru and Poland and 1-1 with eventual winners Italy. Eight years later, they beat Argentina in the Opening Match becoming the first African side to reach the quarter-finals riding on the goals of striker Roger Milla. That performance remains their finest with later group-stage exits in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010. Their key players, Team captain Samuel Eto is a world-class and charismatic player. The team boasts experienced and high-level talent that includes Nicolas NKoulou, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Aurelien Chedjou who remain vital at the back and a midfield with Alex Song, Jean Makoun and Stephane Mbia. Coach: Volker Finke; Former stars: Roger Milla, Marc-Vivien Foe, Rigobert Song Best performances in a FIFA competition: FIFA World Cup Italy 1990 (Quarter-finals), Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Sydney 2000 (Winners) National History, the earliest inhabitants of Cameroon are believed to have been the the Baka (Pygmies) who still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. The Mandara kingdom in the Mandara Mountains was founded around 1500 and built the magnificent fortified structures that still mystify historians. On July 5, 1884, all of today’s Cameroon and parts of its neighbouring regions became a German colony, Kamerun, with its capital first at Buea and later at Yaoundé. Present-day Cameroon was claimed by Germany as a protectorate at the end of the 19th century. The Imperial German government constructed infrastructure including extensive railways such as the 160-metre single-span railway bridge on the Sanaga South branch. During World War I, the country was occupied by French and Belgian troops, and later mandated to Great Britain and France by the League of Nations in 1922. The French mandate was known as Cameroun and the British territory was administered as two areas, Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Northern Cameroons was divided where the Nigerian and Cameroun borders met. French Cameroun became independent in January 1960, and Nigeria was scheduled for independence later that year, the Muslim-majority Northern area formed a union with Nigeria, and the Southern area voted to join Cameroon. Northern Cameroons became a region of Nigeria on 31 May 1961, while Southern Cameroons became part of Cameroon on 1 October. Nigeria Group F – Nigeria will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 21st and Argentina on June 25th In Group F with Malawi, Kenya and Namibia, the Nigerians are perennial favourites to reach the final play-off round of qualifying. Losing no matches in the group stage, they drew three times, once against each opponent with the most nail biting game having occurred in a 1-1 at home to Kenya. Facing the Ethiopian, Nigeria was seldom threatened in winning away 2-1 and at home 2-0. In World Cup finals history, on their way to the second round in both of their first two FIFA World Cup appearances, 1994 and 1998, Nigeria have since gone out at the group stage twice taking only two points from their last six matches in the finals. Their South Africa 2010 campaign was disappointing but Brazil 2014 is another chance for the reigning African champions to shine. The key players, coach Stephen Keshi is known for choosing in-form domestic players over more well-known stars, a policy that has paid dividends with Nigeria’s victory at the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations. The team has remained relatively stable with Chelseas John Obi Mikel becoming the lynchpin of the side. Vincent Enyeama is an important in-goal veteran and Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa and Emmanuel Emenike are key attack players. Coach: Stephen Keshi; Former stars: Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Rashidi Yekini National History, the Federal Republic of Nigeria in West Africa is the most populous country in Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north, and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Since 1991, its capital has been the centrally-located city of Abuja; previously, the Nigerian government was headquartered in the coastal city Lagos. The people of Nigeria have an extensive history, and archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. Côte dIvoire Group C – Côte dIvoire will face Colombia on June 19th and Greece on June 24th Côte d’Ivoire easily qualified in their group with four wins in six matches and scored 15 goals to five conceded, dropping points from two draws against their biggest rivals Morocco. Their play-off against Senegal was close but Salomon Kalous late goal sent the Ivorians into their third consecutive World Cup finals. In World Cup finals history, Côte d’Ivoire has never played past the group stage of a FIFA World Cup finals. In 2006, they shared Group C with Argentina, Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro and finished third, as they did in South Africa four years later, when they were drawn alongside Brazil, Portugal and Korea DPR leading analysts to concede that their group draws have been somewhat unlucky. The key players, Côte d’Ivoire has some of the greatest talents in Africa. Forwards Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are formidable with midfield duo Cheick Tiote and Yaya Toure, winger Gervinho guards both flanks, with Didier Zokora and Kolo Toure’s experience at the back. Coach: Sabri Lamouchi; Former stars: Laurent Pokou, Youssouf Fofana, Joel Tiehi Best performances in a FIFA competition: FIFA World Cup Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 (Group stages), FIFA U-17 World Cup Canada 1987 (Third place), FIFA Confederations Cup Saudi Arabia 1992 (Fourth place) National History, originally a great trading empire of West Africa, the region became the French colony of Côte dIvoire in 1893. The Malinke Empire in the interior resisted the French until 1918. In 1958 it became a French Republic and in 1960, achieved independence. A government of national unity was formed by General Robert Guéi, and in October 2000 Laurent Gbagbo, for the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI, Ivorian Popular Front), was elected president. Gbagbo was the only opposition to Guéi since Alassane Ouattara was barred from the election. In 2002 a military mutiny in Abidjan split the country politically -- the Muslim north from the Christian and animist south. Peacekeeping talks brought the fighting to an end, but the country remains divided References The Official Website of the FIFA World Cup™ - FIFA fifa/ (Retrieved 13 June 2014) History World – History of Algeria historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac92 (Retrieved 13 June 2014) History World – History of Nigeria historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ad41 (Retrieved 13 June 2014) History World – History of Ghana historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ad43 (Retrieved 13 June 2014) History World – History of Cameroon historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ad39 (Retrieved 13 June 2014) History World – History of Côte dIvoire bbc/news/world-africa-13287585 (Retrieved 13 June 2014)
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 20:51:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015