FT English Premier League Preview: What does Naby Keita bring to Liverpool?

Preamble

From dodging cars in the streets of Conakry, Guinea to be on of the most exciting midfield talents in the world of football, Naby’s story is also a Cinderella one. It’s on record just how much he has loved the game since he was a toddler. Naby kicked anything that met his feet, played football in the busy Koleya streets shoeless or otherwise, faced rejection at several trials in France because of his stature and a lack of tactical understanding of the game. Now, we know his name, Anfield and indeed the Premier League awaits for the diminutive trickster. What should we expect?

Eight is the number

Naby Keita of Liverpool during the Pre-Season Friendly between Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool at Ewood Park on July 19, 2018 in Blackburn, England.

(July 18, 2018 - Source: Getty Images Europe) 

The 23-year-old arrived at Liverpool after switching from RB Leipzig in a then-record transfer for the Merseyside club, valued at £52.75 million. He inherited the number ‘8’ shirt at Liverpool, which had been vacant since the days of the legend, Steven Gerrard. In fact, Steve G himself did the honors of handing the prized shirt to the Guinean international. These are the shoes he is expected to fill, shoes that many believe he will fill. Just for some perspective, Gerrard spent 17 years at the club and scored 186 goals in 710 appearances in a similar role. Yes, it's no easy feat. Keita already has 17 goals and 15 assists so far in his professional career since appearing for Red Bull Salzburg in 2014. Should he just maintain this rate, mathematics tells us that Keita will rise to the occasion and tread the path of Legends like Gerrard, perhaps even make his own.

The playing style

Keita was mostly deployed on the wing at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, but football science and art tell us that he is a number 8. The kind that is popularly known as a box to box midfielder. He is likely going to play in the midfield of three with the recent arrival at Liverpool, Fabinho who is able to provide more defensive cover to the defenders and Jordan Henderson, Milner or Gini Wijnaldum. When Oxlade Chamberlain recovers from injury, he will also surely be among Jurgen Klopp’s options. It is true that Keita will have to repeatedly prove his inclusion into the starting eleven in the presence of such competition, but here why I think he could easily be one of the first names on the team sheet.

“Essentially, I see Keita as a possessing the combined qualities of Wijnaldum, Henderson and Oxlade Chamberlain. You get more from him than choosing any of the three individual players.”

— Dennis Takaendesa, FirstTouch Africa

Liverpool play a 4-3-3 formation with Roberto ‘Bobby’ Firmino as the false nine, Salah and Mane on either wing. They actually do not have a proper attacking midfielder who assumes the playmaker role, Firmino has been the one closest to being that. Now, Naby doubles as a defensive and attacking midfielder. He is able to intercept passes, break presses from the opposition and quickly turn defense into attack. The Guinean is so comfortable on the ball, that he is able to creatively run through the midfield, skipping markers and even finding the back of the net in the absence of good options to receive the ball from him. This obviously attracts opponents, freeing the likes of Mo Salah, Mane, and Firmino who have become a deadly attacking trio that not many can stop. He can also pick players from any part of the pitch with long passes, much like Henderson.

No wonder the Mersey-side club broke the bank for him.

Naby Keita #8 of Liverpool controls the dribble as he moves towards the goal and is chased by Amos Pieper #42 and Herbert Bockhorn #39 of Borussia Dortmund during an International Champions Cup match at Bank of America Stadium on July 22, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

(July 21, 2018 - Source: Bob Leverone/Getty Images North America) 

Under Klopp, Liverpool have become devastating on the counter-attack and somewhat predictable. Many would agree that they play long balls, more of the long balls coming from the previous midfield and defensive setup. They will still play long balls but Keita would offer something different when required, with his ability to take on players and squeeze in key short and defense-splitting passes. He has been compared to Kante and a host of many other great central midfielders, but he is just Naby Keita. Jurgen Klopp himself has hinted on Naby’s indispensable role to the 2018 UEFA Champions League finalists.

“I see him as an ‘8’, he can play ‘10’ as well, maybe in the future, he can play ‘6’ as well. At Leipzig he played as a winger - that’s for sure not his best position but he can play it because he has the speed for it, he has the football intelligence for it. We see him as a creative No.8, playing the passes and making the runs with the ball.”

— Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool Manager

The family-factor

“Salzburg improved me as a player and I learnt so much there, I got a really tactical education. Sadio was important for me, he still is! To me, he’s my big brother. He really likes to learn new things, to improve and to push himself and we are the same in this way. He’s a good example for me.”

— Naby Keita, Guinea and Liverpool

Equally important to great performances on the pitch, is a good off the pitch environment. It seems like Baby Keith has settled well at Melwood Park from the social media coverage. You could guess that central to the smooth transition could be the African connection at the club, more so Sadio Mane whom Keita sees as a big brother since their time together at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. 

Liverpool, it just might be your time this time. You obviously ain’t walking alone!

FT English Premier League Preview: How will Mahrez fair at Manchester City?

The Price Tag

Riyad Karim Mahrez could be the most expensive African player in history after sealing a £60 million move to Manchester City. The five-year deal is believed to reach an astounding £75 million with add-ons and would very much surpass the Congolese, Cedric Bakambu’s £65 million switch to Chinese Super League side, Beijing Guoan. The 27-year-old Algerian international has also become the Cityzens’ record signing, which speaks volumes about just how much the club admire and what is expected of him. This leads me to the first question many will be keen to see answered, whether Riyad will live up to his perceived value.

He has been to the mountain-top

Do you remember the fairytale of the 2015/16 Premier League season, where Leicester City lifted the trophy against all odds? Riyad was the man at the heart of Claudio Ranieri’s set up, terrorising opposition, creating chances, scoring goals - mostly from the right wing side, always cutting inside and slipping away from defenders with what became known as the ‘Mahrez chop’. His partnership with Jamie Vardy ensured the latter would also write his name in the English record books for quite a number of records. Even Riyad looked great on paper too, scoring 17 goals and serving up 11 assists. That year, 2016, became his ‘Mo Salah’ year getting all sorts of awards. In fact, he almost matches Salah on accolades received, except that he did not outscore his Leicester teammate who won the golden boot. Mahrez’s track record proves that he will unlikely be unfazed by the challenge of City who happens to be a town, subset of a world he has dominated before, a world that is English football. Lest I get carried away talking about the past, let’s look ahead into his City future.

New level, new heights, and new dreams

After being a subject of many failed attempts for a move away from Leicester since the fairytale season, Riyad finally got what most people wished for him. A bigger club, with a bigger fan base, top quality players, and definitely bigger dreams. He had reached a ceiling with the Foxes and with all due respect to Leicester, it wouldn’t have been a fun show seeing his immense ability and potential only in use to help a mid-table club stay afloat. In my opinion, Mahrez’s ability on the ball and to take-on players is second to only a handful of professional footballers all around the world. Since 2015/16 season, only Hazard, Sanchez and Zaha have completed more dribbles in the EPL. See the company he is keeping, Zaha is another African who actually deserves a blog post on this site. After a disappointing 2016/17 campaign with Leicester where he only managed 4 goals and 2 assists, Riyad redeemed himself in the follow-up, scoring 12 times and registering 10 assists. Under the mentorship of Pep Guardiola and the company of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane, David Silva and Aguero, he is probably dreaming bigger. A champions league triumph perhaps, a place among the G.O.A.Ts of the football world maybe - the sky is really the limit now.

Will he actually get a real chance?

It is no secret that the Premier League champions have unparalleled depth in the quality of their squad. More so, given the attitude of the almost unpredictable tactician in Guardiola, no player is safe from sitting some matches out. Not even the record signing. Mahrez’s preferred position is on either wing, especially the right one, where Raheem Sterling largely operated from, scoring 18 Premier League goals from also serving up 11 assists. Bernardo Silva who is possibly City’s best player in the pre-season tour so far will also be vying for more minutes on either wing, let alone the Germany prodigal child, Leroy Sane who scooped the PFA Young Player of the Year Award in City’s title-winning season. I actually think Riyad could get some preference, especially on the right wing as he is able to hug the touchline, just like Sane does on the left - something that Guardiola once which Sterling has come up short of in recent times. He also offers something more, in terms of the ability to score long range shots, which we have hardly seen Sterling do. At the end of the day, only time will tell, but best guaranteed that whatever chance he gets, he will surely be keen to make the most of it. He is very much aware of the probabilities.

The nitty-gritties

A few things to note out and keep an eye on include; the possibility of Riyad, Aubameyang, Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita rivaling each other for the CAF African Player of the award, now that they are all a big parts of three of the best clubs in the EPL and the rest of the world. Could he possibly even compete for the golden boot if deployed in Sterling’s position, I mean, we are very much aware of his goal-scoring ability. The unsettling factor in the equation of predicting Riyad’s debut season at City is the possibility of injuries stepping in to take away all the fun. Just like any other footballer, he is not completely immune any. He has already survived a major scare in pre-season after being taken-off a pre-season match against Bayern Munich as a result of an ankle injury. Hopefully, it’s the last of it.

Let us know how you think Riyad will fair at City in the comment box below. Let the games begin!

FT World Cup 2018 Recap: Nigerian Pride

As a kid, I have always been a football fan. The first football team I ever supported was the Nigerian Super Eagles. I was such a super fan that, whenever they lost a game, I used to cry so much, my parents would have to console me and tell me, “Its just a game”. Even though it was just a game, I was so passionate about the Super Eagles. I have watched them play in the world cup on TV in the previous year. This year, I got the opportunity to watch them play live, in Russia. I got my ticket as early as December 2017. Going to Russia became a dream come true. Something I never really wished as a kid but became a reality.

Once arriving in Russia, I had my ups and downs. Following Nigeria all around for all the group matches was tedious. According to the ranking, Nigeria would be the second most traveled team, Egypt being the first.

The first match was against Croatia. It was in a city called Kaliningrad. The train ride was 23 hours but I deferred to flying into Kaliningrad and then, taking the train back. It was a two-hour flight from Moscow, which was my base, where I was with my friends. On match day, I was not too happy because I got to the stadium late. I missed the Nigerian National anthem. Listing to your countries National anthem during the World Cup definitely gives you the jitters but, I missed it because our flight was delayed and the shuttle from the airport to the stadium was driving at the rate in which a snail moves. Nigeria ended up losing the match 2-0 to Croatia. The energy was CRAZY. I was surrounded by a pool of Croatian fans. Around me was probably about 10 Nigerian fans. This was the ratio all throughout the rest of the matches. After the loss, to my surprise, the Croatian fans were super nice to me. I was expecting to be heckled but, they showed sympathy towards the loss and said to me, “Nigeria played a good game”. I ended up taking loads of pictures and heading back to my Airbnb.

The following day, I decided to take the 23-hour train ride back to Moscow. Once I arrived at the train station, I was not allowed to board due to the fact that, I had a Nigerian Passport and didn’t have a Schengen visa. Kaliningrad was a city that is sandwiched in between Schengen state countries. So to get to Moscow from Kaliningrad, I would have to go through immigration in Latvia, and some other countries. So, I had to go back to the airport and get a flight back to Moscow. I got to the airport at about 5 pm and only one flight had seats back to Moscow going for about $450. I had to pass on the seat and get a ticket that left for the following evening for about $90 so, I had to sleep at the airport overnight. I was not alone in the predicament because about another 30 Nigerian fans slept in the airport with me due to the same Schengen visa situation.

Nigeria Vs. Iceland was a much better story. I decided to take the train from Moscow to Volgograd. It was an 18-hour train ride, a cabin with 4 beds, bunk style. I roomed with three Russians. Fortunately for me, two of them spoke English and we were able to conversate throughout most of the train ride. The ride was not so bad, I slept for about 5 hours and enjoyed the fascinating countryside view of Russia. We got to Volgograd in the morning and toured the city until the fan fest opened. The Icelandic fans flooded in to celebrate before the game while the Nigerian fans came in a very light but, it was still a very friendly environment. The match was great, Nigeria ended up winning 2-0. As a fan, I had high hopes we would go to the round of 16 because Argentina tied with Iceland and lost to Croatia so Nigeria was sitting in second place. All we had to do was a tie or beat Argentina.

Nigeria Vs Argentina was played in the beautiful city of Saint Petersburg and to me, it was the most beautiful city I visited from all the 5 cities I visited. I took an 8-hour train from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. I was in a cabin with 4 other Argentine fans. It was an overnight train that departed from Moscow at about 8 pm and arrived in the morning. 

The Nigeria game started with Messi scoring in the early minutes. Being a fan, I was down but I knew we were not out of the game. At the beginning of the second half, Victor Moses converted a penalty to make the scores 1-1. I was exciting sitting next to a pool of sad Argentine fans until Marcos Rojo scored at the end of the match and Nigeria, went home packing.

An interesting moment happened after the game. I left Saint Petersburg at about 3 am to head back to Moscow. Once arriving in Moscow in the morning, I was doing some souvenir shopping in the train station and an Argentine fan walked up to me and said “Change Shirt?”, he wanted to swap his Argentina jersey for my Nigeria jersey. I replied, “No”, and walked away but, about 5 seconds later, I thought to myself, I get to experience this kind of feeling once every four years, it’s just a Jersey, I could always buy another Nigeria jersey online but I don’t want to miss out on saying, I swapped a Nigeria jersey for an Argentina jersey with an Argentine fan. So, I walked back to him and we swapped jerseys.

All in all, the World Cup 2018 was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I enjoyed every moment of it and don’t regret any single moment. I made friends, shared drinks with strangers, sang songs and mingled with football fans all over the world. All I can say now to the World Cup is not goodbye, but so long, see you in Qatar in about 4 years.

FT World Cup Recap: Top 5 U23 Players From The World Cup

We all know that football is a collective goal and one man’s loss leads to everyone’s loss. That philosophy, however, should not make us overlook the efforts of the individuals and give the credit where it’s due. Even though the World Cup eventually went to our African brothers in another continent, there are still some U23s that made us proud and here are they below in no particular order.

1. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)

He is just 19 years old, he is a Real Madrid player who is on loan to Borussia Dortmund for two years. That kind of CV is not earned by just anyone, and moreover, he displayed an incredible level of versatility at the World Cup 2018 this summer in Russia. For the FIFA World Cup Group B clash with Iran, he was a right center back in a defense of three. He also performed well as the left back in the following games against Portugal and Spain. This level of versatility is really commendable in a player because it ensures that they are able to grow different skills within the same tournament. He was born in Spain and is the son of Moroccan parents, he roared with the Lions of the Atlas and made them proud.

2.  Peter Etebo (Nigeria)

One thing that most people would most likely remember him for is the “own goal” that he had in the Group D 2018 World Cup match against Croatia. That was not enough to destroy the player’s morale in the tournament. The 22-year old showed that he has the talent to keep moving his career in the right direction. Even though he was known for his abilities as a winger, he strengthened the Nigerian defense line at the tournament which was a sign of flexibility. The player’s speed when charging towards the ball was quite evident in his games. In the Nigerian game against Iceland, he proved that beyond his tenacity in tackling, he is also great at initiating attacks.  He recently signed a 5- year contract with Stoke City where he will take the next step in the development of his career. 

3. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)

Any ordinary 20-year old’s dribbling skills would not match Sarr’s skills. His tenacity on the field was unquestionable during the 2018 FIFA World Cup as he dribbled his way out of his competitor’s traps. His performance made the just the right amount of noise and caught the attention of Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool. All teams have been making inquiries with the hope that this youngster will soon grace their squads. The price at which the player is estimated to be purchased for is around 50 Million Pounds. This young player has been dubbed “one of Senegal’s brightest young attacking prospects”.

4. Francis Uzoho (Nigeria)

In the early stages of his career, he was determined to be a center-forward, but his coach saw beyond what Francis thought was his dream at that point. Today, the 19-year-old stands between the goal posts of the Nigerian team. While the other Nigerian goalkeepers could not be at the tournament, he gave a brilliant performance and only conceded 4 goals throughout the tournament. It was quite commendable that at his age, he was able to take up the task of being a first-choice goalkeeper, which is something that has been dubbed as a task for the mature. Thank you, Francis, for teaching us to always be ready to rise to the occasion when the need arises! If there is a memorable experience that we are taking away from this is that fingertip save from Messi’s free kick during the Group D match between Nigeria and Argentina.
 

5. M’Baye Niang (Senegal)

He may have been at fault with his two yellow cards that cost Senegal qualification into the knockout stage, however, he is the reason why the team was tied with Japan in the Group H standings of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. As controversial as his goal might seem to have been, Niang was behind why Senegal was able to get away from Poland with a 2-1 victory. Poland fans were infuriated by the way the referee made a ruling on this goal, but this was a typical demonstration of a beautiful mistake. He had been out of the pitch for a short injury break and the Polish players did not notice it. He swiftly accepted a misplaced Polish back pass and went past the goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny into an empty net. This was indeed the highlight of his appearance at the World Cup. His performance in this match, specifically, also earned him the Man of the Match title.

FT World Cup 2018: Belgium vs Tunisia, A Seven Goal Frenzy

The beauty of the World Cup is not only experienced by the victors. Due to the fact that the tournament is, in fact, a final including different countries that have qualified from their respective confederations, the fans here have been incredibly celebratory and for good reason. Belgium is a country that is enjoying international tournaments with a bit more expectation due to their golden generation of talent that comprises their squad. Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romelu Lukaku are household names but all entering their prime years in their respective careers.

Tunisia is a country with passionate fans that have waited 12 years to see their country appear in the World Cup and have been waiting 40 years for a victory in a World Cup match. How fitting that the last match we had tickets to see live, was a neutral fan’s dream match. After watching a slightly more conservative approach from Cristiano and Portugal, it was thrilling to see how Roberto Martinez sent out a Belgium side to attack Tunisia relentlessly in search of victory. It was equally thrilling to see Tunisia try to match Belgium’s footballing prowess with their own brand of attacking football. Rather than sit back and soak up pressure looking to counterattack, Tunisia tried to keep possession and build attacks from their defense. Unfortunately for Tunisia, an early Hazard penalty kick quickly followed up by a Lukaku goal meant that they would have to become even more adventurous against an incredibly potent Belgium side that was poised to seize the extra space Tunisia would leave exposed when attacking. While Tunisia certainly could be applauded for their brave tactics. Belgium maximized their physical advantage over Tunisia and was running rampant as the first half came to a close.

Spartak Stadium was the venue for this match and its intimate seating helped to create a cacophonous atmosphere for both Belgian and Tunisian fans. The second half was a bit more of the same, Belgium attacks followed by Tunisia attacks, and as the game drew to a close, Tunisia was able to score a second goal through Wahbi Khazri. To hear the Tunisian fans celebrate that second goal even though the game was 5-2 and drawing to a close, represented all the pride and joy felt by Tunisians to have earned the opportunity to compete at the World Cup. It was incredible to be a part of and witness.

Percy Tau Is One For The Future

The inevitable has happened, the hottest South African football talent might have just widened his circle of influence with his recent move to the English Premier League side, Brighton & Hove Albion. Percy Tau has penned a four year deal with the Seagulls, who are reported to have paid £2.8 million for his services, a record-fee for a South African.

A few months before today some thought the Senegalese legend, El-Hadji Diouf had gone mental. Diouf remarked that Percy Tau’s move to the big European leagues was long overdue and even went further to draw a comparison between the Witbank-born player with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. As the 2017/18 South African PSL season drew to a close, it becomes even clearer just how much potential the 24-year old possessed as he proved to be a special ingredient in Mamelodi Sundowns’ title-winning campaign. Tau capped off the season by winning three of the most coveted individual awards in South African football; South African Player of The Year, Players’ Player of The Season and joint-top scorer award. The move could not have come at a better time, especially since Percy had won all there was to win with Bafana BaStyle, including the CAF Champions League. This step up is actually less about him and more about his country’s progress and his role in charting it.

The Twitter community showed just how much the move means to South Africa as a people, who have been criticised for creating a haven of mediocrity by not allowing their players to seek new challenges. Even rivalries were put aside as fellow footballers and clubs took turns to congratulate Percy. Most remarkably was the top SA top-flight side, Polokwane City’s tweet, “Minus one problem! Hamba Kahle Simba (Go well, Lion).” Even the country’s top goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune who plays for a rival club in Kaizer Chiefs tweeted,

“All the very best in your new journey #KingTau @percymuzitau22 fly the SA high #ProudlySouthAfrican #GodIsGreat ”

But the journey is far from over for the speedy forward as he now follows the footsteps of the likes of Quinton Fortune who played for Manchester United, Benni McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers & West Ham United) and most recently, Steven Pienaar, who played for Everton. He might just have a whole lot more to prove given the nation’s hopes pinned on him in an ever-increasingly competitive world. Percy will have to adjust to the new surroundings, new football style, make new friends and prove his worth. He will begin his Brighton career with a loan move in the upcoming Premier League season to “get an experience of European football” and actually allow room to have his work permit finalized.

“Percy is a player we have highlighted for the future, and there is no doubting his talent, having been voted South African player of the season. Percy will go out on loan this season, play regularly and get some experience of European football. We will be watching his progress and monitoring his development over the season.” - Chris Hughton, Brighton & Hove Albion Manager

All South African eyes and many new eyes are on him now and he seems to be embracing the challenge and poised to do well.

“Going out on loan is always good to help a player develop and get better. It’s new for me to be in Europe, and I’ll get to work on myself and a few things that I need to improve...Last season was great, I got a few personal achievements, but we won the league as well, which is something that means so much to me. I’m happy to have gone down that path, but it’s over now and it’s time to make new memories.” - Percy Tau

Adjusting to life at Brighton could actually be aided by the African connection building up at the club with the arrivals of the Malian midfielder, Yves Bissouma, Nigeria’s Leon Balogun who will meet the Cameroonian, Gaetan Bong who has been at the club since 2015.

Let us know just how high you think Percy will fly the South African flag in the comment box below.

FT Post World Cup 2018: The Day Morocco Bullied Portugal

A Few Weeks Before This Day

At the end of the 90 minutes, I was kicking myself trying to conceive how Morocco lost that Group B clash against the European champions, Portugal. In fact, I am still questioning myself hoping to get answers on the Lions of the Atlas’ ordeal. I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat throughout the match, cheering on, commentating and at times giving instructions through the television, as if they could actually hear me. That is just some hindsight into the level of passion I felt, which can be hardly described with words. At the end of the day, I was thoroughly entertained but walked away with a sinking feeling which has driven me to reflect in this piece.

Numbers Don’t Lie

Objectively, this is not just a “make Africa look good piece.” I am not a data junkie but let us look at the stats of the match for a second. Morocco had more of the ball with 55% possession, they also had five more shots than Portugal with a total of 15 shots with twice as many on target than their opposition. They had a superior passing accuracy of 76.4% compared to Portugal’s 71.7%, more passes in the attacking third, more key passes, more corners, more dribbles, more recoveries; essentially more of everything in attack. I am sure you are getting the picture now, Morocco actually bullied the 4th ranked team in the world. Hakeem Ziyech literally owned the midfield cutting inside from the left flank, Nordin Amrabat was unstoppable and the defense marshall, captain Mehdi Benatia adopted a second role - heading the ball goalwards at the wake of the countless opportunities, almost like a second striker.

The Significance

This was really huge to me as far as breaking stereotypes is concerned. African teams have been overtime described as “physical” which actually implies that they lack tactical awareness, organization, and are void of the ability to entertain. For the first time in my life, on the biggest stage of them all, I witnessed a European team pushed to the brink and made to defend in numbers, in other words, “park the bus”. Let me be clear, I do not see it in the view of the underappreciated rising to the occasion to prove haters wrong - shouting “I told you so,” but rather, in the light of football is a testament that no particular group of individuals has the inalienable right to mastery and dominance. Everyone can master and dominate, not just in sport but in everything. Allow me to echo the timeless declaration that all men are created equal with the hope that the more we roar it out, the more we move to actualize it.

Every Team Needs A Ronaldo

I am always reminded by my peers that in the end “football is about scoring goals.” Well, I actually concede to that fact but I cannot be robbed of the celebration of broken stereotypes. This gets me to the next point in moving past the “feel good dimension” to that of winning. Arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo actually won that particular match and many others for his country. The recent addition to the Juventus squad delivered a lightning header in the 4th minute from a corner kick, which sealed the points for the European champions. As we celebrate the progression of African football in the context of the Moroccans, I suggest we also aspire not to just do enough but be the best. My hope and prayer are that the small boys and girls in the forgotten and well-known parts of the continent may grind as much as Ronaldo with the belief that they will seize even the smallest of opportunities, become the best players in the world and win battles for their nations.

Morocco finished the 2018 FIFA world cup campaign in Russia, bottom of Group B with a single point after having lost the opening match to Iran courtesy of an injury-time own goal, another loss to Portugal and drew 2-2 with the 2010 World Champions, Spain. The Moroccan matches were some of the most breathtaking matches of my 2018 World Cup experience.

Continue roaring, Lions of the Atlas! 

France's second World Cup triumph a win for African immigrants everywhere

France's World Cup 2018 winning team featured no less than 15 players with African roots.

Moscow, Russia - Luzhniki Stadium:  With a 4-2 win on Sunday, July 15th, France stepped over Croatia onto the podium for their 2nd ever World Cup title. The historical win marks their first major tournament win since 2000 when they won the European Championship, just two years after their legendary and inaugural World Cup win in 1998. And just like in ’98, France’s current batch of champions features a generous amount of immigrants. That first wave of the Golden Age graced the world with multinational French talents such as Marcel Desailly, Patrick Viera, and even Zinedine Zidane. For France, ’98 marked an unveiling of sorts of a talent pool so rich that for the tournament, then coach Aime Jacquet only selected three Parisians in his World Cup roster. The previous ’84 Euro-winning team had just one. The youth of Africa had created a new formula for the French.

Where was this infamous talent pool located? You’d have to go back to the late 1940s-50s when France was rebuilding the country after the destruction of WWII. By 1965, almost 3 million of France’s population were immigrants. By 1975, after a second wave of immigrants came to France from West Africa and the Caribbean, due to an economic shift and a country-wide labour shortage, 35% of France’s immigrants were African. These immigrants would often relocate on the outskirts of major cities such as Paris, Lyon, and Marseille, and in recent decades, these cities have become home to the children and grandchildren of these African immigrants. These cities are separated from Paris only by a single highway that circles around the city like a cage.

Thierry Henry, a youth product of Clairefontaine thrived in World Cup '98 for France

Timing, they say, is everything, but rarely a coincidence. During this same period of time, France were experiencing by far their least successful era in international football. Through 1960-1975, their men’s national team failed to qualify for two separate World Cup tournaments and a European Championship. In 1975, with the “How the f!@# do we get better?!” question creating pressure amidst the FFF (French Football Federation), then president Fernand Sastre created Clairefontaine, an academy for the country’s youth elite. At the time, Clairefontaine was regarded as arguably the finest footballing academy on the globe, as it produced some of the most gifted French players of the budding French Golden Age like Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, and William Gallas. The rest is, what you call, history. 

Today, France's championship-winning World Cup team featured 15 players African roots, including the young man of the hour Kylian Mbappe, who was born to a Cameroonian father and an Algerian mother.  Defender Samuel Umtiti was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, before emigrating with his family when he was two years old. Fellow defenseman Adil Rami, was born in Corsica to Moroccan parents and is the only player in the squad with North African descent. Midfield general N’Golo Kanté is also of Malian heritage. It has been wonderful for the world to get to see the entire team of heroes as well as their African sports icons embraced for bringing honor to the nation they have chosen to represent.

Mbappe finished the tournament with 4 goals and World Cup's best young player honors. 

During the 2010 World Cup, the team encountered many discipline issues. Instead of an investigation into the dysfunction that had led to such a situation, the criticism was focused on questioning the players’ loyalty to their country since they had roots abroad.

I hope that this national pride continues. It was not too long ago, when in 2011, the French Football Federation and then France manager, Laurent Blanc, faced accusations that they had secretly discussed limiting the number of places for players from ethnic minorities at their headquarters in Clairefontaine that would have seen players as young as 12 passed over in order to make room for their white counterparts.” In 2000, a poll indicated that around 36 percent of the French population thought that there were “too many players of foreign origin in the French football team.” Though the newfound celebration of their multi-racial national team is a positive, it is even more essential that this respect extends to the non-sports playing immigrants in the country who are still dealing with racial and ethnic discriminations based on the color of their skin or the countries they may be migrating from.

Steven Nzonzi, a French midfielder for Sevilla, is born to a Congolese father. 

A fan of the game myself, it has been rather enjoyable to watch the world celebrate the Boys from the Banlieue. Like you, I have read the articles, Facebook posts, and Twitter comments celebrating the French team as the last standing African team in the tournament. As a Cameroonian, these statements have been relatable. A lot of us share a sense of pride when we see moments of African excellence such as this. And while I congratulate France for adding a second World Cup star to their jersey, this is not a hate piece against the country, but rather a challenge to the African football federations. While even the harshest critic would admit that luck was not on the side of the five African nations representing the continent in the 2018 World Cup, the reality has still been a bitter pill to swallow for most. Out of these countries, none made it past the group stage of the tournament. This marks the first time since 1982 where an African team hasn't progressed to the Round of 16 in World Cup competition. AFCON 2019 will represent a chance for the continent to celebrate its culture, and the teams, especially the ones who missed out on Russia, an opportunity at redemption. The question that will be looming over many heads at CAF and the Ghana’s, Nigeria’s, and Cameroon’s of the world is how can we not only retain but continue to improve the youth talent pool in our African countries?  

FT World Cup 2018: Live From Russia - Senegal carry the weight of a continent

FirstTouch is in Russia for the World Cup 2018. We will be attending multiple games and celebrating the world’s game with fans from all across the world! Enjoy our blogs that document some of our experiences.

Coming off of Mexico’s historical upset against Germany on Sunday, me and the fam were definitely riding a high. Even though we just witnessed what would be still one of the best games of the tournament so far, we were eagerly anticipating the Senegal match against Poland. It would be our 4th game on our schedule but our first that included an African team.

It was subtly covered in the news leading up to the match, but Senegal were carrying the hopes and dreams of the entirety of Africa, after each of the 4 nations representing the continent lost in dramatic fashion in their opening games. To add to the hype, The Lions of Teranga actually looked the part as they fielded a talented, yet balanced squad, to take on Poland. Myself, along with everyone else in Spartak Stadium looked forward to watching Sadio Mane take on Dortmund right back Lukasz Piszczek, but the matchup I most looked forward to would be on the other end of the field. Unstoppable force Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich’s star striker and arguably the best striker in the world for a few years now, would be battling against immovable object Senegalese and Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. I sipped my beer as I watched the Polish players warm up behind the goal.

From the very start of the first half, Senegal imposed their will, control, and tempo on the game. Everton midfield general Idrissa Gueye bossed the game for Senegal early on, as his Kante-like pressuring ensured that Senegal were able to regain possession pretty quickly whenever they lost the ball. He would then either spread it wide right to Wagué or Sarr, or find Mane and Niang directly, helping circulate their build-up play higher up the pitch. After a few good chances, Senegal broke the deadlock through a Mane inspired own goal in the 37th minute and went into the half with a 1-0 lead. Needless to say, we were pretty thrilled about it.

Senegal came out in the 2nd half exactly as they left the 1st, full of confidence and in control. Gueye and N’Diaye continued to do an excellent job blocking off passing lanes to Lewandowski and dropping back so that when he did receive the ball, he had multiple bodies to deal with. In the 60th minute, Senegal extended their lead, this time through Niang, their most dangerous attacker through this portion of the match. While their first goal was celebrated with pure jubilation, the second was celebrated with a bit more swagger and assurance. Even though Poland were able to sneak a goal back in an inevitable 2-1 defeat, Senegal had lived up to the expectation, something rare in footballing these days.

Even though Senegal would go on to not qualify for the Round of 16 through the first ever enforcement of the FIFA Fair Play Tiebreaker, they perhaps finished as the one African nation who not only gave African fans a true sense of pride and belonging amongst the growing level of competition at this level, but also gained the respect of the world during the process. For me it was special to watch all of the neighbouring fans at the World Cup fall in love with the Senegalese and the joy of their team. The future looks to be bright for them and I look forward to hopefully seeing them again at AFCON 2019.

FT World Cup 2018: Senegal's Tournament in Review

The best African team of the Tournament denied a knockout spot due to the controversial tiebreaker

Here at FirstTouch, we predicted Senegal would have a good tournament. As reported by Dennis Takaendesa, Aliou Cisse's men were well coached and well prepared to make a statement at the World Cup 2018 similar to the Senegalese team from 2002, but they just fell short of their knockout round goal. They did, however, play a brave and tactically effective brand of football that can and should be a blueprint for their fellow African representatives at future tournaments.

Senegal vs Poland [June 19]

FirstTouch was in Russia to cover this game live from Moscow. Spartak Stadium provided the arena for the Senegalese team to seize their first chance to make an impression on the World Cup 2018 tournament, and they did not disappoint. Cisse organized his team in a 4-4-2 formation to effectively punish a sluggish Polish side that was all too tentative in possession. Sadio Mane provided a consistent attacking spark for his side and his powerful run into the Polish half helped set up the chance for Idrissa Gueye to shot and score from an admittedly fortunate deflection. Senegal had created their own luck, however, and was rewarded towards the end of a good first half. The game shifted in the second half with Poland chasing the match and Senegal sitting slightly deeper to defend and then counterattack. In games so tightly contested, opportunities to score are at a premium and Niang took advantage of a poor back pass from Poland's Krychowiak to score the second goal of the match. Krychowiak, however, was able to make amends for his mistake, although it proved too little too late when he scored a well-directed header from a Polish set piece towards the end of the match. Senegal was able to see out the rest of the match and effectively limit the impact of one of the world's top strikers in Robert Lewandowski. This first victory represented an important and symbolic result similar to the 1-0 victory against France that Cisse led his Senegalese side to achieve, but also represented the first victory for an African nation at the World Cup. 

Senegal vs Japan [June 24]

With an all-important three points from the first game, Senegal just needed a result in their second match against Japan to stay in contention for a knockout round spot in Group H. However, the same level of organization and focus in important moments would be required to achieve success against a Japanese side that also won three points from their first game. Sadio Mane helped Senegal have a strong start with an 11th-minute goal, but that early goal was canceled out in the 35th minute by a Japanese goal from Inui. In a first half littered with chances for both sides, 1-1 was a scoreline that betrayed the amount of attacking football that was on display. Inui proved a constant threat for Senegal throughout the game and especially in the second half. However, Senegal was able to retake the lead with a second goal from Wague. The lead did not last long enough because a crucial moment in the game did not produce enough focus from Senegal's goalkeeper, and N'Diaye did not properly deal with a cross that Keisuke Honda was able to capitalize on and bring Japan level. Although one point was a result that kept Senegal's knockout chances very much alive, it was in hindsight an opportunity missed getting all three points. 

Senegal vs Colombia [June 28]

With four points heading into their final Group H matchup against Colombia, Senegal's destiny was not completely in their own hands and the points dropped against Japan came back to haunt them. This last match pitted Mane's men against a Colombia side attempting to create their own path into the knockout rounds and that had just comprehensively beaten Poland 3-0. Senegal started strong again, creating a number of chances that they should have capitalized on, and VAR was used to overturn a penalty awarded to Sadio Mane after a last-ditch tackle from Davidson Sanchez. The game grew tenser as it progressed with fewer chances being created. Poland assuming a 1-0 lead against Japan meant that both Senegal and Colombia would have gone through with a tie, however, Yerry Mina's header from a 74th-minute corner kick meant that Senegal had to chase the game. Their efforts bore nothing by the end of the game and this represented Senegal's first loss in a group stage game of the World Cup. This loss also meant that a tiebreaker was needed to separate Senegal and Japan. FIFA's new tiebreaker is based upon a 'fair play' ranking that keeps track of a teams' yellow and red cards. Such a tiebreaker has been deemed by many experts and fans as wildly inefficient, especially when watching the end of both games. Japan was more than happy to keep possession between their defenders and Poland, with nothing left to play for, saw little need in pressing them to retrieve the ball and score the second goal. Senegal, unfortunately, were made to chase the game due to another lapse in focus during a set piece. Yellow and red cards are not a measure of a team's success nor should be a deciding factor in a tournament with such differing standards in referee judgments. Senegal should feel hard done by such a tiebreaker, but ultimately, it was two decisive moments where a lapse in focus in each moment cost them a spot in the knockout stages. With that 1-0 loss to Colombia, it meant that for the first time in 36 years there would be zero African nations in the Round of 16 at a World Cup. 

Lessons Learned

1. An organized game plan and tactical flexibility is great until it is all undone by lapses in focus

2. Senegal must continue to improve, but already have a solid group of talented players led by Sadio Mane and coach, Aliou Cisse

3. Can Senegal play this well at AFCON 2019 next summer? They must certainly improve their goal-scoring ability to do so. 

Evaluation

Senegal was the best African team at the World Cup 2018 but still came up short due to lapses in focus during crucial moments. In a Group H that was there for the taking, Senegal should not have allowed themselves to be eliminated by a senseless tiebreaker. However, Aliou Cisse did provide a blueprint for the other African nations looking to perform in future World Cup tournaments. Tactical flexibility coupled with an organized team structure can help all African teams close the gap on the rest of the world. Perhaps, the fact that Cisse was a former player and was able to inspire and demand the respect of his team since he had led Senegal to the Round of 16 as a player also played a part in the overall team cohesiveness that was certainly missing from some of the other African nations. 

Critical Issue

Unfortunately, this seems to be a consistent issue with not just African teams, but all teams throughout the world and that is solid goalkeeper play. A better goalkeeper would have certainly meant a different fate for Senegal, but also a sharper focus during set-pieces and other critical moments during the match. 

FT World Cup 2018: Nigeria's Tournament in Review

“I think like the President said, this is the first time we are going into a tournament like this without any issue of money, bonuses or anything like that. I think everything is sorted now for us and all we have to do as players is go out there and make this country proud and we hope with your support as the father and the leader of this great nation, we will go out there, give our best and make sure we come back with the trophy.” - John Obi Mikel, Captain of Nigeria

These were the words of the former Chelsea man as the Super Eagles took flight for Russia as one of the five teams to represent the continent of Africa at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. As you can probably tell from Mikel’s speech above to the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, they were ready. For the first time ever, they had probably ticked all the boxes in terms of preparations for a highly organized campaign. Even their trendy Nike kits and elegant African dresses told the story of Eagles ready to reach new heights. In a group with Argentina, Croatia and Iceland, was the success going to be a certainty? Did they actually have enough wind in their sails?

The Croatia Fiasco

In all honesty and truth, that word summarises Nigeria’s first fixture against Croatia, fiasco (a complete failure). As we had anticipated in FirstTouch’s Group D  overview of the World Cup, Gernot Rohr used the 4-3-3 system with the exception that he chose Etebo for Onazi and Idowu instead of Echiejile in the back four. In fairness, the team actually made sense, it seemed to be the strongest possible from the 23-man squad. However, when the 90-minutes were up, all the positivity and hype had disappeared into thin air, Africa and Nigeria were stunned by the 2-0 loss to the organized Croats. A team that had only registered two shots on target for the entire match. It’s not like Nigeria had more. The entire match was a boring affair pitting the Super Eagles who seemed to be lacking desire, strolling the pitch and passing sideways with no sense of urgency. When going forward, a chance created that would be created would just fizzle out as a result of not having a clear attacking plan. The Croats, who were not actually great on the day, revealed more intent and purpose, and left the game with all three points.

A much more re-invigorated Nigerian side melted the Icelanders

Matchday Two arrived and we were all thrown into a frenzy. The social network communities came to a standstill as the African community, ring-led by the 180 million Nigerians flooded Instagram and Twitter notably crowning Ahmed Musa as a ‘governor.’ The CSKA Moscow forward had struck twice in the Iceland fixture to deny the “Vikings” a fairytale campaign, blowing Group D open and giving Argentina some hope of reaching the knockout stages after they had succumbed 3-0 to Croatia in a “tactics gone wrong” scary movie showing by Jorge Sampaoli. A much more disciplined and hungry Super Eagles team could be attributed to the positive result against Iceland. A switch of the formation to a 3-5-2 introducing Chelsea’s Omeruo as part of the back three offered more defensive stability and attacking prowess as Victor Moses was shifted to a more familiar right wing-back role and Ahmed Musa partnered with Kelechi Iheanacho upfront to deliver the goals in place of Ighalo. We started seeing the Nigerian side we had all hoped for; youthful, talented and passionate, and with one game to go in the group stages, the Super Eagles had put themselves in prime position to qualify for the knockout phase as they now sat in a second place ahead of Argentina and Iceland, who both had a point each.

A familiar tango with Albiceleste had a familiar end

The final fixture shaped up to be the most important one. With Nigeria needing only a point to book a spot in the Round of 16 and Argentina counting on some complex permutations coupled with a victory over the Super Eagles, Nigeria had it all to do heading into this last fixture. Gernot Rohr named an unchanged line-up from the starting XI that faced Iceland and had to start on the back foot after Messi seized the first decisive moment of the match and put the South Americans in front with a sublime goal in the 14th minute. As the match progressed, we witnessed the birth of character, winning attitude and fighting spirit in the Nigerian squad as they came from being a goal-down to dominate the 2014 World Cup finalists and equalize from the penalty spot. They could have scored another goal to make it 2-1 but a penalty appeal was rejected after VAR consultation. Mighty Argentina was pushed to the brink by Nigeria, resembling more tactical awareness and skill than the acclaimed South Americans led by arguably the best player to have ever played the game of soccer, Lionel Messi. With the scores tied, Nigeria guaranteed qualification and with five minutes left on the clock, the dreaded lack experience manifested itself. Marcos Rojo latched onto a cross and fired the ball into the bottom corner. The Super Eagles had to succumb to another Argentina loss, a fifth in five World Cup meetings. This time, the loss was definitely not a tactical blunder or shortcomings in skill but that which I think is as a result of a lack of experience and the wherewithal needed to perform at the highest level. The collapse of concentration in the final moments of the match not only by Nigeria but by a  host of other African teams could vindicate me on this assertion.

What now for the Super Eagles?

It is no secret that in terms of talent, Nigeria can boast and say “we own it.” A generation of brilliant midfielders in the form of the 21-year-old 2017/18 top English Premier League tackler, Wilfred Ndidi, the versatile Etebo, young forwards in Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi as well as the 19-year-old goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, exemplify the array of talent Nigeria possesses. Not to mention Arsenal’s Kelechi Nwakali and the likes, Moses Simon who didn’t make it to Russia, shows that Nigeria has the right mix of youth and experience - I think it’s all about blending it well. It is obviously easier said than done but here is my short letter to the Nigeria footballing community containing fast-five bulleted notes:

1. Hire a local head coach who builds the team from within the country not relying on foreign-based players who take longer to form team chemistry

2. Schedule a lot of international friendlies to gain exposure

3. Soccer is a team sport, build teams and do not bank on individual talents

4. Invest in the growth of local football systems by improving local leagues

5. If you have to use juju, please do if it will stimulate an ever ending desire and character to win.

Super Eagles, thank you for fighting as hard as you could. We wish you all the best in the future.

FT World Cup 2018: Tunisia's Tournament in Review

Like all African states, the Eagles of the Carthage came into the World Cup oozing with hope and pride for the African continent. Little did they know that they will be slapped with a loss from England, followed by a heavy blow of loss from Belgium. To redeem themselves, the Tunisians exited the tournament with inflicting the same kind of loss on Panama with a 2-1 win. Even though the departure was sooner than hoped for, the lessons learned were timely. Below is an overview of the learning curve.

Tunisia vs England

FirstTouch had predicted that this should be a game not to miss because of the certainty that the Eagles will bring their fight forward. They did live up to the expectation. They were flexible enough to change their strategy to a 5-3-1-1 during their second half of the game which tightened the bolts and made it hard for England to go past their defense line. The pressure on England was too much. Only Harry Kane stood in their way to victory when he scored twice for England and only allowing Tunisia to take one goal away. The 2-1 loss was not enough to discourage the North Africans as they went to devise more strategies to face Belgium in their next game.

Tunisia vs Belgium

This was the hardest and most dramatic match that the team faced throughout the tournament. Firstly, they had a new man (Farouk Ben Mustaph) at the goal post after their initial goalkeeper Mouez Hassen got injured in their first match against England. This level of flexibility is commendable. This did, of course, have negative implications for their game. Secondly, two of their players had to leave the game early due to injuries. It might have been these loopholes that allow Belgium to kick in the ball into the net 5 times. Lukaku scored two goals before the first half. Even after he left the game, the rest of the team carried the job to the very end of the 5-2 victory. This was the lowest point for the Eagles, but not all hope was lost because they still needed to face Panama.

Tunisia vs Panama

Tunisia proved that losing your former battles does not translate to absolute loss. You learn from them and come back stronger, as they gave Panama the same taste of what England gave them: 2-1 loss. In this game, Panama struck first in the 33rd minute with Jose Luis Rodriguez. This was after the Tunisian goalkeeper had not just one grip of the ball, but held it twice in the 18th minute to make sure that they did not lose this one. Tunisia was not held back by that first stab, as Fakhreddine Ben Youssef scored in the 50th minute. Just 16 minutes before the referee blew the whistle, Wahbi Khazri came in to redeem the team and ensured that the team leaves the tournament with some respect. The team is not just leaving empty handed but leaving with some lessons that will inform their next tournaments.

"For Tunisia's narrative, it's one of slight disappointment. We went into the tournament not expecting a miracle after having lost our best player Msakni. We knew our only chance was to get a result against England. We fought hard and were just 90 seconds away from making the country proud. That loss demoralized us and we went into the Belgium game physically and mentally weakened. We couldn't capitalize on our chances, and we were left fighting for our honor against Panama. We were able to salvage what could've been yet another winless World Cup (Tunisia holds the record of most winless games in a row with 11 or 12). The win against Panama was our first in 40 years!" - From Tunisian Fan Perspective, Amine

Lessons Learned

• Being flexible enough to change your strategy in the middle of the game is important.

• The ability to play in different roles is a definite treasure for teams.

• Learning from your mistakes as a team is the whole point of the game.

• The ability to persevere through a match can enable a team to turn its losses to amazing wins.

Evaluation

Not all good plays result in a win. Tunisia played well in the team, especially when it came to the strength of its defensive line. The only issue is that they conceded too many goals, but as their coach Nabil Maaloul says, it was only when they “met with very tough opponents”. The coach went on to say that they came into the group hoping that they could at least be third in the group, and yes, their hopes were fulfilled.

Critical Issue

They need to train more of their goalkeepers to avoid the concession to so many goals. The ability to shoot right at the net would also be necessary for them to be at their best at the Africa Cup of Nations.

FT World Cup 2018: Morocco's Tournament in Review

Lacked a cutting edge, but a lot of positives to pick up from one of the toughest groups

If we are to be realistic, not much was expected of Morocco after being seeded in Group B with European giants Portugal, Spain as well as Iran. Of course, we were behind them as they raised the flag of Africa sky high and hoped that they would have enough to cause an upset in the group and prove that matches are not won on paper. Here’s a recap of their performance in the tournament.

Morocco vs Iran (June 15)

FirstTouch Africa previewed the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia competition ahead of time and we anticipated that they would bring their exciting passing game to Iran and dazzle the fans. They never came short of that expectation. For the longest parts of the match, Morocco was the dominant team. Benatia was rock solid at the back as usual, and Amrabat was a threat on the byline. What was lacking for the Lions of the Atlas (أسود الأطلس‎) was that Didier Drogba type of forward who could bury all the chances home especially the ones they created in the first 20 minutes. They played like their lives depended on it, and it was no surprise that Iran had only 32% possession to show for their lucky victory against the African team. Morocco unfortunately lost by virtually the last kick of the match through an own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz on the 95th minute. That performance was promising, and expectations started building up towards the match against the European Champions, Portugal.

Portugal vs Morocco (June 20)

Morocco needed a response but they could only do so much in a match against a defensively resolute Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo scored early for Portugal through a fierce header on the 4th minute, and it was enough to confirm Morocco’s early exit from the biggest individual sporting event in the world as they failed to find the back of the net for the second consecutive match. That one goal kept the fans on the edge of their seats throughout the match with Morocco giving all the effort they could in a do-or-die match. The Portuguese full-back, Rafael Guerrero had the longest 90 minutes of his career facing Amrabat and Dirar who bombed upfield whenever they had the opportunity. Again, no one was on the receiving end of the dangerous balls from the flanks and Morocco had no one to blame but themselves for not finishing past Rui Patricio. With two defeats, Morocco was out of the tournament days into the competition.

Spain vs Morocco (June 25)

It was a match of pride really. Irzem and Atlasi were out to prove that they were not a pushover and issue a strong closing statement as they bowed out of the tournament. Morocco learned from their mistakes as forward Khalid Boutaib scored their first goal in the tournament on the 14th minute to stun Spain. The Spaniards responded through Isco a few minutes later, and it was all-square when the teams went in for a break. The VAR evidently determined the fate of the teams in Group B, and it is quite surprising that some incidents went unpunished like Gerard Pique’s double-foot challenge. Nonetheless, Morocco again found the lead for the second time in the match through substitute En Nesyri on the 81st minute. An African team was on the verge of breaking the Spaniard’s 22-game unbeaten run. Fellow substitute Iago Aspas also scored on the other end to make sure that Spain shares the spoils with أسود الأطلس‎ in their last match of the tournament. It was a proud moment when the referee ended the match as Morocco proved to the world that they could play against the top 2 teams in Europe and give them a run for their money.

Lessons Learned

1. Morocco’s style of play causes problems for any team they face.

2. There is room for improvement in terms of finishing.

3. VAR is not always fair.

4. Achraf Hakimi is one for the future.

5. Coach Herve Renard’s tactics were spot on.

Evaluation

Morocco was fairly good in the tournament. They had a lot of players who play in the most competitive leagues in the world, and it was beautiful to watch them in sync as they played a possession football that even Arsene Wenger would be proud of. The players played out of passion and love for the game and nothing else. If Morocco were named in any other group, they probably would have made it to the next round because Group B had brutal fixtures.

Critical Issue

They need to find sharp-shooters who are ruthless in front of goal and take the 2019 African Cup of Nations by storm.

FT World Cup 2018: Egypt's Tournament in Review

Disappointing Egypt fail to create any momentum at the World Cup

Things just didn’t work out for the Egyptians in this World Cup. It is said, “to whom much is given, much is expected”. The Pharaohs simply failed to deliver on football’s biggest stage. Kicking off their World Cup campaign without their talisman player Mohamed Salah, the North African giants never looked threatening in any of their three Group A games. They went down 1-0 to Uruguay in their opening match. The story continued in their second game where they lost 3-1 to Russia, and even the return of Salah in this game couldn’t rally the team to victory. They capped off their disappointing World Cup with a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, effectively leaving the tournament with another disappointing display. 

Egypt vs Uruguay

The first game was quite an uphill task for the Egyptians in all honesty. With the news that Mohamed Salah would not start the match due to his shoulder injury he received from the UEFA Champions League final with Liverpool, it was quite hard to imagine them grinding out a positive result in this match. The outcome of the game proved as much as they succumbed to a late Luis Suarez goal which resulted in a 1-0 victory for Uruguay. The loss was all but shocking considering that Egypt never really looked like they would break down a well oiled Uruguay defense marshaled by Diego Godin.

Egypt vs Russia

This was a game that was highly anticipated by most Egyptian fans as it marked the return of Mohammed Salah after recovering from his shoulder injury. Ahmed Fathi’s bizarre own goal seemed to have paved way for more goals as Russia became rampant thereafter, adding two goals in quick succession, courtesy of Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba to kill the game off. Though Salah did pull a goal back for the Egyptians 20 minutes from time with a coolly struck penalty, the damage was already done and Egypt found it hard to break down a resolute Russian defense in search for a comeback. An early exit for Egypt was confirmed at the end of this game after two losses on the trot.

Egypt vs Saudi Arabia

Many expected Egypt to salvage some pride here by beating Saudi Arabia, but that was not to be. Salah put the Pharaohs ahead with a nice lob over the Saudi Arabian keeper, but Salman Al Faraj sent Essam El-Haddary the wrong way to level matters after Saudi Arabia was awarded a penalty. The Saudis then put the last nail in the coffin for Egypt right at the stroke of full-time courtesy of Salem Al Dawsari's close-range finish, defeating the Egyptians 2-1. This marked the end of The Pharaohs’ short World Cup spell which was thoroughly disappointing, to say the least.

Lessons Learned

• Defense is the best form of attack, Egypt was poor defensively hence they also failed to provide a threat going forward.

• Not relying on one man to drive the team.

• Play for the jersey and show hunger.

Evaluation

Heavy reliance on one man can be a recipe for disaster. Egypt simply did not offer much going forward especially during Salah’s absence. It is safe to say the North African giants never got the ball rolling.

Critical Issue

They need to ramp up their defense which proved to be the weakest link of the team. With the departure of El Hadary, the team also needs more leaders to step up and motivate the players all around the pitch.

FT World Cup 2018: Senegal were so close but yet so far

Africa are out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament. Shocking right? Many experts and coaches from all over the world predicted that African teams would do better in the competition this time around, but they were left disappointed. Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho are just two of the many experts that shared in this pre-tournament belief. But how exactly did Senegal let the chance slip through their fingers in the final match? Here’s how.

In the first two matches, we did not see the captain of the team, Cheikhou Kouyate in the starting XI as well as the boy wonder, Keita Balde Diao on one of the flanks. Coach Aliou Cisse decided to change things up and accommodate the two players in a compact 4-4-2 formation against Colombia on June 28. Mane, who was playing up front with Niang, got an opportunity to score but lost the ball in the penalty box to Yerry Mina. VAR was used, and it adjudged that Mina committed a legal tackle. The Senegalese team were dangerous on the break but failed to score. A second-best Colombia team was unfortunate to lose James Rodriguez to injury, and they replaced him with an attacker, Muriel. Yerry MIna later proved again decisive as he stunned Senegal when he rose above the defenders to head in the game-winning goal on the 74th minute. Senegal now needed a goal to secure their place in the Round of 16 with Japan losing 1-0 to Poland. They fought, but could not score past Ospina. The match ended 1-0 and Senegal were level on points with Japan. They scored the same number of goals and conceded the same in the group stage. The two teams could not be separated by the head-to-head fixture either as it ended in a draw. For the first time in the tournament, a team was eliminated based on the number of yellow cards they picked up in the tournament. Senegal finished 3rd in the group, and it must be heartbreaking to bow out like that.

This means that the journey for the 5 African teams has ended in the group stage. Better luck next time, Africa.

FT World Cup 2018: Nigeria go down fighting

The Super Eagles of Nigeria missed out narrowly on reaching the knockout stages after Marcos Rojo scored a late winner to send Argentina through.

The West African boys came into the match on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Iceland after faltering 2-0 to Croatia in the opening match. Their win collapsed social media as Africa celebrated with the nation of over 180 million people. With this game, everything was on the line, the Super Eagles only needed a draw to secure qualification to the next round while the shaky Argentina side had to bag all three points with the hope that Iceland would fall to Croatia.

Fourteen minutes into the match, Lionel put the South American side ahead after controlling an overhead pass from Arsenal-linked Ever Banega and firing the ball into the net. It was really a vintage Messi moment and if you ask me, not much could have been done to stop it. An organized defense led by Brighton Hove Albion’s Leon Balogun and a wonderful fingertip save by Uzoho from a Messi free-kick kept the scoreline at 1-0 on the 45-minute mark.

After the halftime period, the Super Eagles came out flying, meticulously hunting their prey. Etebo curled a corner into the box in the 51st minute which did not lead to a call but meant that Javier Mascherano had to put his arms over Balogun to avoid one, granting the Eagles a penalty. Victor Moses made no mistake from the spot, canceling Argentina’s opener. At this stage, Nigeria could actually have been two or three goals up after some neat interplay that saw Wilfried Ndidi’s long-range shot narrowly missing the target. Odion Ighalo also missed an open chance before a penalty appeal was rejected after a VAR review when Marcos Rojo seemed to have handed the ball to stop Musa’s cross from reaching the lurking Ighalo. The 86th minute was to become the heartbreaking moment.

Gabriel Mercado swung a cross into the box that met the Marcos Rojo who fired it into the bottom corner becoming the unlikely hero of the night. Argentina’s qualification was further aided with Croatia’s 2-1 win over Iceland.

In the end, the result was disappointing and some decisions might have gone against the Super Eagles but the overall performance by the Nigerians was nothing less than a fight to the death. Now, four of five African teams have been knocked out from the tournament. Africa’s last hope lies with Senegal, who plays Colombia on the 28th of June.

FT World Cup 2018: Morocco issues a powerful closing statement against Spain

Morocco’s elimination was guaranteed after failing to score in their opening two matches, narrowly losing 1-0 to both Iran and Portugal even though they dominated the opposition on both occasions. However, the beautiful football they play paid off against their neighbors, Spain, the acclaimed “masters of the beautiful football.” More than just the football was on display, as the referee’s decisions and VAR took center-stage.

The Lions of the Atlas opened the scoring in the 14th minute when El-Boutaib capitalized on a Sergio Ramos mistake, raced goalwards and finished it off nicely by slotting the ball between David De Gea’s legs. Five minutes later, La Roja replied. Isco leveled matters after being gifted a scoring opportunity by the dancing Iniesta who dribbled past two defenders and delivered him the assist. From this point onwards, everything seemed to have been going against the North Africans. Morocco received an astounding four yellow cards within the first half after a host of challenges and outbursts of frustration as a result of the perceived partiality of the referee. If you ask me, there may be two or three occasions where the referee made some controversial calls.

After the halftime break, Spain continued to search for an elusive win that would guarantee their qualification but homebound Morocco had other plans. They were determined to cause an upset and leave a mark on the tournament after fighting so hard in a group earmarked the “Group of Death.” Substitute Youssef En-Nesyri restored Morocco’s lead in the 81st minute with a bullet header that David De Gea could only watch fly past him into the net. The climax of the eventful night, however, came in injury time, when Iago Aspas scored a goal that was initially ruled offside before a VAR review awarded the goal making the final score, 2-2.

Spain and Portugal, who survived a late scare from Iran in their 1-1 draw against the Asians, march on from Group A into the knockout stages.

FT World Cup 2018: Egypt with a surprise loss to Saudi Arabia

The age-old adage, “same story, just a different day” proved true for Egypt in their disappointing World Cup journey as they closed off their campaign with a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia.

It was a game that had little but pride to play for, considering that both teams were already eliminated from advancing into the knockout rounds from Group A after losing their first two matches.

“The Pharaohs” drew first blood in their first convincing attack of the game when Mohamed Salah latched onto a long ball from Abdallah El-Said and chipped the ball over the advancing keeper into the back of the net.

Saudi Arabia, however, was given a penalty in the 41st minute, which was brilliantly saved by legendary goalkeeper Essam El-Haddary, who was celebrating a milestone during this game. The Egyptian goalkeeper became the oldest player to ever play at the World Cup, at 45 years-old, and capped that honor by cooly saving Fahad Al Muwallad's penalty.

However, Saudi Arabia was to be given another penalty on the stroke of halftime of which this time they were able to convert as Salman Al Faraj sent El-Haddary the wrong way to draw the two sides level. The Saudis then put the last nail in the coffin for Egypt as they snatched a winning goal at the very death courtesy of Salem Al Dawsari's close-range finish, which further emphasized a very humiliating Egyptian World Cup display.

As they bid farewell to the World Cup, Salah’s future with the Egyptian national team has been a key talking point. This comes after his involvement in a political row during his stay with the Egyptians in Chechnya during the World Cup. It is said that before the World Cup commencement, Salah was pictured alongside Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov at Egypt's base. Kadyrov declared Salah as an honorary citizen of Chechnya in a ceremony that Salah attended.

Nonetheless, this will be a very forgetful World Cup experience for Egypt especially because much was expected from the North Africans but instead, they choked at the biggest stage. Lessons were learned and hopefully “The Pharaohs” will bounce back and win the hearts of Africa once more.