At the beginning, News in Africa Online warned that there would be loud cheers and sullen agonies for many soccer-fans passionately watching World Cup matches in Russia. As the saying goes, viewers ain’t seen anything yet. More surprises will come. There were five African teams at the onset of the tournament on June 14. At the end of Round 1 on Thursday, only one African team, Terranga Lions of Senegal, remains (all the African teams were eliminated). Some African football fans had tipped Senegal and at least one of the three North African representatives to advance to the Group of 16. The high expectations of football lovers across the continent have been badly dashed. What remains now is the gnashing of teeth.
Nigeria could not earn a total of four points – by securing one win and one draw – in order to move on to the knock-out stage. Nigeria failed to get a draw in its last match against Argentina. The sole win over Iceland is not enough. Africans must now return to the drawing board to prepare for the 2022 edition of the World Cup in Qatar.
For African teams, the lesson from Russia 2018 is very simple. Any team eager to advance in the Mundial must focus on winning, or at worst, securing a draw in its very first match. No permutations can save any team that loses its first two matches at the Group stages from bidding bye to the tournament.
It is unfair to single out any player or coach for blame when a team flops in any tournament. FIFA designed its World Cup structure in such a way that sixteen teams must go home to enable the remaining sixteen to advance to the knock-out stage. No team is too big to change the FIFA rule. The defending champion, Germany, has been eliminated from Russia 2018. As some observers have noted, the boys have been separated from the men. So, the real World Cup duel can now start.
