African Talent and Dark Horse Selection

With the World Cup only days away, it's now time to take a look at the African talent and my Dark Horse pick for 2010. During every World Cup there is always a team who surprises us. In 98' it was Croatia, in 2002 it was Turkey and South Korea and in 2006 it was Ukraine. There is no doubt in my mind that this year will be the same, however, trying to predict who will become the next Cinderella story is the hardest thing to anticipate. I have a few candidates who I believe will do damage this year in Africa.

This is the first time Africa has hosted the World Cup. In the past decade African nations have made exceptional strides towards becoming serious contenders in world football. The world has been waiting for one country in Africa to become consistent enough to make a run at a World Cup title.   Once an untapped resource, Africa is now producing world class players who are emerging as international superstars. Manchester United has two players from Africa, Chelsea has four and Arsenal has five. 90 percent of these players are not just on the roster but play a pivotal role in their teams success. I expect at least one out of the six African teams to do extremely well this year, but who will it be?

Although South Africa has home field advantage, I do not believe they possess the quality of players nor the experience to go far this year. They also have a very tough group which includes France, Mexico and Uruguay. I would group Algeria and Cameroon in this conversation as well.

This leaves Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. Nigeria has a very good chance to qualify for the knockout stage, mainly due to the fact their group consists of Argentina, Greece and South Korea. Argentina will clearly win this group but the second spot is definently up for grabs. Nigeria is one of the healthiest African nations, they are not missing any key components of their squad like Ivory Coast and Ghana. If they play agressive attacking football against a Greek team, who puts eleven players behind the ball, I think they will be successful and progress to the knockout stage. If they get that far they will most likely fall to either France or Mexico. Escaping the group stage would be a great accomplishment for Nigeria.

Four years ago everyone predicted that the Ivory Coast was the African team of the future. Now that the 2010 World Cup has arrived it is now time to prove it. They had a good World Cup qualifying, winning five games and drawing one. The competition they will face in the World Cup will be much tougher than in qualifying. The Ivory Coast are in the "group of death" with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. They will have to play at a very high level if they wish to proceed to the knockout stage. This will be difficult without their star striker, Dider Drogba. He fractured his right forearm in a friendly against Japan a couple weeks ago. There is a great deal of speculation surrounding his injury. It was initially reported that he would miss the entire World Cup. Some reports are now saying he will be back but are unsure exactly when he will play. The Ivory Coast is a talented team but they lack that killer instinct up front when Drogba is left on the sidelines. I believe that the success of the Ivory Coast in this years tournament rest solely on the shoulders of Drogba. If he plays well or even wins the golden boot, the Ivory Coast will make a deep run. However, if his injury holds him back and he cannot produce on the pitch, it will be a disappointing year for them. 

In my eyes, Ghana is the African team of the future, not the Ivory Coast. Ghana's dedication to youth development is already producing results. Last year in Egypt, Ghana won the U-20 Fifa Wolrd Cup, defeating the Brazialian powerhouse in the final. Many of those players are not ready or developed enough to be part of this years national team but the future looks very bright for football in Ghana.

Much like the Ivory Coast, Ghana will be missing a key player in South Africa. Chelsea midfielder, Michael Essien will not play this year due to a torn meniscus disc in his left knee which has plagued him all season. This injury might not be disastrous for Ghana's chances. Filling in for Essien is twenty year old Ayew, the captain of the U-20 national team. This is a chance for Ayew to step up and prove he can play with the best in the world. It is a lot of pressure for a young kid to bear but it is also an unbelievable opportunity to raise his stock value for the future. If Ayew can handle the pressure and his U-20 teammate Adiyiah can score some timely goals, I believe that Ghana has a chance to outrun it's competition and advance to the round of sixteen.

Predictions
Nigeria: Second round exit.
Ivory Coast - Quarter-finals (With Drogba). Second round exit. (Without Drogba)
Ghana - Second round exit.


DARK HORSE SELECTION - Paraguay

Paraguay was in the most difficult group during World Cup qualifying. Their group included teams such as: Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela. Paraguay was not very good on the road with a record of 2-4-3. They gave up twelve goals against and scored only ten, a goal differential of -2. However, at home they were 7-2-0 which included wins against Brazil and Argentina. Paraguay scored thirteen goals while surrendering only five, a goal differential of +8. It is clear from these stats that Paraguay is completely different team at home and on the road. At home they were giant killers whereas on the road they had trouble against teams like Bolivia and Peru. South Africa might be a good place for Paraguay to play because no team in their group is from Africa and no team will have any substantial crowd support. If Paraguay can play as well on neutral territory as they do at home, Paraguay has a good chance to surprise a lot of spectators in 2010.      

Many players on the Paraguay side play for good teams in Europe and around the world, but they lack the star power of other nations. Therefore Paraguay must rely on team chemistry rather than outstanding individual performances. This is the teams fourth consecutive World Cup appearance, so don't be surprised if they overcome opening game nerves and defeat Italy, the defending World Cup champions.

Prediction - Quarter-finals.