Heroics and heartbreak: Africa’s first week at the World Cup
Wednesday marked the end of the first round of group matches at the World Cup finals and saw both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana, the last of the 10 African representatives, get onto the pitch.
The heroics of Cape Verde and Morocco, plus a victory for the Ivory Coast, made it a good start for the continent, even if Algeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia were all defeated and now face must-win encounters in the second round of group games, which kick off on Thursday.
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These have been the African heroes and heartbreakers after the first week of African games at the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States:
HEROES:
Emam Ashour: The Egyptian midfielder’s class is well known around the continent for his performances with Al Ahly in the African Champions League, but he announced himself on the wider world stage with a stunning strike from the edge of the area to put the Pharaohs up against Belgium in Seattle.
Amad Diallo: A late winner from the Ivory Coast winger ensured three valuable points against Ecuador in Philadelphia, that is sure to be the ticket for the Elephants to progress into the next stage of the tournament. With Germany up next for the Ivorians in Group E on Saturday, the victory was a major confidence booster.
Vozinha: Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper earned worldwide plaudits for his part in keeping out Spain in Atlanta on Monday, as a sterling defensive performance earned the island nation a draw against the former world champions in their World Cup debut. His mother missed the game because of visa problems, but she will now be in Miami for their next game against Uruguay on Sunday.
Caleb Yirenkyi: The 21-year-old got his due reward for his persistent running and involvement for Ghana against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday with the 96th-minute winner. The Black Stars had a poor first half but improved markedly after second-half changes off the bench and sneaked a potentially vital three points at the end of the clash.
HEARTBREAK:
Kalidou Koulibaly: Senegal’s captain was injured in April and worked hard to be fit for the match against France, but he was far too slow to deal with Kylian Mbappé. Even at the Cup of Nations finals, where he was twice suspended, he looked past his best at the international level.
Sabri Lamouchi: Brought in as coach after the knee-jerk sacking of Sami Trabelsi after a last-16 exit at the Cup of Nations finals in Morocco in January, Lamouchi suffered the same fate as his predecessor after the 5-1 loss to Sweden in Monterrey on Sunday. Within hours, the Tunisian federation pulled the trigger and sent him packing.
Luca Zidane: Algeria have had a goalkeeping crisis for some time, and the son of French legend Zinedine has not proven the answer. He did not impress at the Cup of Nations, and he certainly looked out of his depth in the 3-0 pasting from Lionel Messi and Argentina in Kansas City on Tuesday.
Themba Zwane: Any contact with an opponent’s face spells trouble, as Khuliso Mudau found out at the Cup of Nations in December. Zwane’s clash with Mexico’s defender Roberto Alvarado initially looked innocuous, but it looked a deliberate strike to VAR and FIFA’s disciplinary committee, who slapped the 36-year-old with a three-match ban.
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