EGYPT MOROCCO NIGERIA SENEGAL TUNISIA
With just one day to go until the first ball is kicked at the
World Cup we look at the five CAF qualified teams that will be showcasing their African flair in Russia. The three North Africans Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are joined by the duo of West African giants Nigeria and Senegal.
The Pharaohs take up one of the four spots in Group A after Mohamed Salah’s late heroics in qualifying sealed Egypt’s place at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. They will line up alongside the host nation and are joined by Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, the latter of which they will face in their opening game at the Ekaterinburg Arena on Friday June 15
th.
Salah remains a doubt for that clash with the injury he picked up in the UEFA Champions League final playing for Liverpool, however manager Hector Cuper has an array of depth with familiar Premier League faces Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Ramadan Sobhi (Huddersfield) and Ahmed Hegazi (West Bromwich Albion) all included in his final 23-man squad.
Morocco conceded just one goal in their qualifying campaign as they secured one of the coveted spots in Russia ahead of African giants Ivory Coast mostly due to the impenetrable backline that includes Mehdi Benatia (Juventus, ITA), Romain Saiss (Wolves, ENG) and Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce, TUR). The Atlas Lions boast a talented attacking outlay as well with Nordin Amrabat (Watford, ENG) and Hakim Ziyech (Ajax, NED) among their more familiar names.
Herve Renard is an experienced coach in the continent and has a real opportunity to mastermind an early three points when they face Iran in their opening Group B encounter in Saint Petersburg on Friday, June 15
th before facing current European champions Portugal and 2010 World Cup winners Spain.
Nigeria have arguably the most talented of the African teams present at this years tournament, led by the experienced John Obi Mikel with former Chelsea team-mate Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi of Arsenal among their ranks. Iwobi is the nephew of former Super Eagle fan favourite Jay-Jay Okocha.
Throw into the mix the Leicester City trio of Wilfried Ndidi, Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho and you have, potentially, a real potent recipe for success under the guidance of their German head-coach Gernot Rohr. Nigeria will occupy Group D where they will play Croatia in Kaliningrad on Saturday, June 16
th before testing fixtures against Iceland and Argentina.
Senegal will be making just their second appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals since surprised the entire world with their dazzling displays at their first in Korea and Japan in 2002. The Lions of Taranga will be spearheaded by Liverpool frontman Sadio Mane, who like Egyptian team-mate Salah, had a blistering season for the Reds.
He will be linking up with fellow Premier League players Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham United), Idrisa Gueye (Everton) and Mame Biriam Diouf (Stoke City) as they look to make an impact in Group H alongside Colombia, Japan and Poland. Aliou Cisse’s men will tackle Robert Lewandowski’s Poland in their opening fixture at the Spartak Stadium on Tuesday, June 19
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Last but not least Tunisia, skippered by Wahbi Khazri of Sunderland will take up their berth in Group G with European giants England and Belgium, whom they will face in their opening two exchanges before an eye-catching encounter against World Cup debutants Panama. Billed as ‘Africa’s Underdogs’, not many are expecting Tunisia to progress past the group stage but they will be out to prove that they are not there simply to make up numbers.
They head into the competition in buoyant mood after impressive recent 2-2 draws against Portugal and Turkey respectively before going down gallantly 1-0 to Spain this past weekend as they put the finishing touches on their preparations.
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