An African team to win the World Cup ?

[PalazioVecchio]

It took 164 years for a team, associated with the Crystal Palace building in SE19, to win anything important.
All good things come to those who wait. The Champions league is awash with World class african players ( by birth or by ancestry). So what are we waiting for ?

During the 1980's Cameroon were very good. They gave a nasty shock to many a complacent 'big team'.

You read it here first. SENEGAL & ismaila Sarr to win the WC, having beaten Spain in the final.

Sarr is good
EAGLEs good
Senegalese & good.

 

[ASCPFC]

I doubt it, but not impossible.

 

[Badger11]

Africa has produced some great players but it is a continent not a country. Unfortunately these great players tend to be spread thinly across multiple countries.

It will happen one day but not at this world cup.

 

[McAhuna]

People been saying this for over 30 years.

But they haven't been significantly closer since that famous Cameroon team of 1986.
I can't see it happening at this world cup. I could see Morocco or Senegal making the QFs.

If any African country does it, it will probably be Nigeria, but they didn't even qualify for this one.

 

[eaglesdare]

It would be just Zahas luck that the ivory Coast go onto win it.

As soon as he leaves us we bag 3 trophies and as soon as he doesn't get called up to the ivory Coast they go on and win it 😅

 

[PalazioVecchio]

Zinidene Zidane., Eze, Olise, Mbappe...etc ....all the lads are too quick to don the shirt of the adopted nation.

Seems a bit unfair to the smaller footballing countries and giving an unfair help to the WC giants. Whereas these giant nations already have a shipping-container of World class talent to choose from. They can afford to leave a ton of amazing players off the books & watching the WC on the telly. Mitchell ? Wharton ? Anybody

You then get african teams with 2 or 3 superstars and the rest of the squad padded out from the likes of Tranmere Rovers.

 

[chris123]

Cameroon were a great watch.

 

[ASCPFC]

Was the Afcon a farce or not? Why perhaps would there be issues with African teams?
There is no attempt to even hide the corruption there. The Presidents of the Associations are proud of it.
And as we know: UEFA are squeaky clean.

 

[McAhuna]

Was the Afcon a farce or not? Why perhaps would there be issues with African teams?
There is no attempt to even hide the corruption there. The Presidents of the Associations are proud of it.
And as we know: UEFA are squeaky clean.

Were there issues with the teams?
Rightful winners Senegal behaved impeccably in my view.

It seems to be a problem with refs and officials.

As an aside I wonder if Riad and Sarr are on speaking terms in our dressing room 🤣

 

[McAhuna]

Zinidene Zidane., Eze, Olise, Mbappe...etc ....all the lads are too quick to don the shirt of the adopted nation.

Seems a bit unfair to the smaller footballing countries and giving an unfair help to the WC giants. Whereas these giant nations already have a shipping-container of World class talent to choose from. They can afford to leave a ton of amazing players off the books & watching the WC on the telly. Mitchell ? Wharton ? Anybody

You then get african teams with 2 or 3 superstars and the rest of the squad padded out from the likes of Tranmere Rovers.

Banning payment for internationals would help.
France, etc simply outbid Mali, etc

 

[ASCPFC]

Were there issues with the teams?
Rightful winners Senegal behaved impeccably in my view.

It seems to be a problem with refs and officials.

As an aside I wonder if Riad and Sarr are on speaking terms in our dressing room 🤣

The issues are with the associations and governing bodies. Sometimes it filters through to officials and teams.

 

[RubinsCube]

Zinidene Zidane., Eze, Olise, Mbappe...etc ....all the lads are too quick to don the shirt of the adopted nation.

Seems a bit unfair to the smaller footballing countries and giving an unfair help to the WC giants. Whereas these giant nations already have a shipping-container of World class talent to choose from. They can afford to leave a ton of amazing players off the books & watching the WC on the telly. Mitchell ? Wharton ? Anybody

You then get african teams with 2 or 3 superstars and the rest of the squad padded out from the likes of Tranmere Rovers.

You might have a point depending on who you mean by "etc" - but

Zidane was born in Marseille. He is French.
Mbappe was born in Paris. He is French.
Olise and Eze were born in Hammersmith and Greenwich respectively. They are Londoners.

So Olise is the only of these four who donned a shirt outside his birthplace. None were born in Africa.

I guess it depends on your definition of nationality and the world has become quite small in the last fifty years or so in this regard.

 

[cryrst]

Japan are my dark horses
Good team and DK playing.

 

[ASCPFC]

Japan are my dark horses
Good team and DK playing.

Golden Boot

 

[PalazioVecchio]

You might have a point depending on who you mean by "etc" - but

Zidane was born in Marseille. He is French.
Mbappe was born in Paris. He is French.
Olise and Eze were born in Hammersmith and Greenwich respectively. They are Londoners.

So Olise is the only of these four who donned a shirt outside his birthplace. None were born in Africa.

I guess it depends on your definition of nationality and the world has become quite small in the last fifty years or so in this regard.

Guehi , zaha, harry Kane..... many players have an option of old ancestry or big empire nation.
My point being that the empire nations do not share footballing talent. Thus the World cup becomes predictable and boring. Never will an african , caribbeann or other football minnow win.

 

[McAhuna]

Guehi , zaha, harry Kane..... many players have an option of old ancestry or big empire nation.
My point being that the empire nations do not share footballing talent. Thus the World cup becomes predictable and boring. Never will an african , caribbeann or other football minnow win.

If Denmark and Greece can win the Euros, I am sure a day will come when Nigeria, Egypt or Morocco might win the world cup. Can't see it happening for 30 years or more though.

 

[RubinsCube]

Guehi , zaha, harry Kane..... many players have an option of old ancestry or big empire nation.
My point being that the empire nations do not share footballing talent. Thus the World cup becomes predictable and boring. Never will an african , caribbeann or other football minnow win.

Based on people I know (admittedly not elite athletes) "option" would be overstating it, even if technically correct. Many people feel they are X nationality even if technically they could be X, Y or Z.

I suspect with elite athletes there is more of a practical aspect to it based on how much they want to participate in international competition. Cascarino, Morrison, and a host of Ireland internationals, plus a host of Welsh internationals, would all if they are honest say it wasn't Irishness or Welshness that drove them to seek international honours. The same dynamic appears to have happened with Zaha. So I'd say it works both ways albeit the top athletes get their choice more than the next cabs off the rank.

What I do think we do see is talent flourish more in developed parts of the world. This gets highlighted when people whose heritage comes from a less developed part of the world flourish elsewhere. Does the Guehi equivalent get talent spotted and does he flourish if his forebears do not move to the UK? Does Victor Moses achieve what he did if his early life had been settled and he had stayed in Nigeria? All hypothetical I know, but I'd say far less likely and this is all part of how unfair the world is unfortunately.

 

[cryrst]

If Denmark and Greece can win the Euros, I am sure a day will come when Nigeria, Egypt or Morocco might win the world cup. Can't see it happening for 30 years or more though.

Morroco can cheat their way to victory like the afcon

 

[PalazioVecchio]

Cascarino, Morrison, and a host of Ireland internationals, plus a host of Welsh internationals, would all if they are honest say it wasn't Irishness or Welshness that drove them to seek international honours. The same dynamic appears to have happened with Zaha. So I'd say it works both ways albeit the top athletes get their choice more than the next cabs off the rank.

During the 'jack Charlton era" the Republic of ireland was composed of real irish players plus many engish or irish-descended Nigels who werent good enough to get into the England team.

Today the top plastic paddies have the same dynamic as top African players....they all play for england...Harry kane, declan Rice, jack grealish, harry mcGuire. So the little countries stay shyte....and a lot of top talent sits at home and watches the WC on telly. The WC fielded by a lot of second class countries with second rate talent.

Think about zinidene Zidane.....Africa (ALGERIA) will never win the WC until FIFA level out the playing field. France has enough big talent to replace him.

Imagine a World Cup without any shyte teams ? Now that would really be something.

How to fix it ? Somehow Incentivise all the Ezes/zahas to play for dads country. Maybe allow them to play for, say, ivory coast AFTER england got eliminated in the qualifiers ? As happened with Italy recently.

 

[syd snot]

Ain't happening, none are good enough.
No doubt over time all the African teams will improve.
Unfortunately for them so will European and South American teams and of course Asia's best.