Bofana Bofana only managed two draws and a loss in three games, and they never really appeared to be a threat. The people in South Africa were very concerned that they would put on a dishonorable performance as hosts when I visited there last year. There is probably no comfort for South Africans in this tournament result. But even a year before their World Cup, Germany appeared unsteady and ineffective, and neither Japan nor South Korea appeared to be the best teams in the world in 2000 or 2001.
Senegal: One starts to question whether Senegal’s excellent form from 2002 was merely an exceptional outing. They appear to have fallen back to earth after missing 2006 and being eliminated from the African Nations Cup.
Nigeria: I remember watching Nigeria’s quarterfinal run in the 1998 World Cup and thinking, “wow, this team is the future of soccer, and once they win it all, they may never relinquish the trophy again.” You can blame some of that on youthful exuberance, but up until their rather embarrassing defeat to Denmark, they appeared to be the most skilled, calm, and athletic team in the Cup. Their form has deteriorated over the past ten years. They were legitimately defeated by a superior Ghanaian team, and it is uncertain whether they will again be absent from the World Cup. A lot of blame must be placed at the feet of the players who frequently play without passion and steel for a team with their talent as well as the wholly dysfunctional Nigerian FA.
Cameroon: For the majority of the last 25 years, the Indomitable Lions have been the pinnacle of African football, and in many ways, the other African nations owe Cameroon a debt of gratitude. However, Cameroon collapsed just as African soccer appeared to be on the rise. Both they and Nigeria missed the most recent World Cup, and their FA appeared to be in disarray. The Indomitable Lions have won in a variety of ways, which is encouraging to see because, unlike Nigeria, Cameroon appears to have got their act together. They may not be able to simply outtalent their opponents as they once did, but Cameroon does appear to have pulled together. After a disastrous performance against Egypt, they won their following two games by an 8-1 aggregate, and they eventually prevailed in extra time to advance to the quarterfinals. The team may have success in 2010 if Samuel Eto’o stays healthy.
Egypt: Remember them? They’re the defending champions, they’re playing good football, and depending on how they do against Ivory Coast, one could make a convincing case for them to move back into a role they haven’t held in a while.
These are undoubtedly the leading teams in Africa: Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. They send a ton of top-tier players to Europe, and they mesh well. The Ivorians must be ranked alongside the Ghanaians in terms of chances of success in 2010, but Ghana must be the clear favorite.
It’s still way too early to predict favorites or dark horses for 2010, but Ghana 2008 has given us a good idea of what to look forward to in the next two years. Let’s hope South Africa plays football that is as entertaining as what we’ve seen in Ghana… What do you think about the African Nations Cup? On the spotlightsoccer.com forums, feel free to express yourself.