RSS
ATOM
advertisement
Constantine's African Corner: The Likes Of Ivory Coast And Ghana Show That Africa's Future Is Bright
Stephen Constantine is the head coach of the Sudan national team. In his regular column for Goal.com, he shares his thoughts about African and world football...
| Bet: | Returns: | Ghana £20.00 | Draw £32.00 | Mali £35.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Ghana £19.50 | Draw £33.00 | Mali £37.50 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Ghana £20.00 | Draw £32.00 | Mali £37.50 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Ghana £20.00 | Draw £32.00 | Mali £40.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Ghana £20.50 | Draw £32.00 | Mali £33.50 |
|
Nov 28, 2009 6:12:55 AM
Well it's all over. The 32 participants
for the next World Cup in South Africa 2010 have been decided and it
can't come soon enough.
Looking at the African side of things, what a finale we had with several games going down to the wire not to mention the play off between Egypt and Algeria here in Khartoum.
Let me first put the record straight after all the so-called trouble that was supposed to have had happened here in Sudan.
Although I did not agree with the choice of venues, my feeling was that this game could have attracted 100,000 fans never mind the 35,000 fans that crammed into such a small stadium.
The police in Sudan did an excellent job in keeping the peace and the rival fans apart for the most part and should be commended. Its not often we say that so credit where credit is due
If fans want to kill each other anywhere in the world they will find a way to do so and you can't blame the police in Sudan for anything in my opinion.
Algeria made it and now can use the African Nations Cup in their build up to the ultimate competition in the World Cup.
So let's look at the other teams to have joined them, well South Africa as hosts will of course be there but I am a little worried about them not making it to the African Cup of Nations.
It's a massive blow. I don’t care what anyone says. One competitive international equals five friendlies. South Africa are going to need to get some very good performances in the build up before going into the group stages of the World Cup.
There also going to have to hope that their best player by far Steven Pienaar will be fit and healthy after what’s looking like a long hard season for Everton.
Hats off to the Nigerians who went through by the skin of their teeth. Going into the final round against Kenya, the Kenyans had to win and hope that Mozambique lost to Tunisia for Kenya to make it to Angola.
It didn’t quite happen like that and the biggest losers aside from the Kenyans were the Tunisians who will not be making it to the World Cup.
Given the Tunisians' last gasp equalizer in Nigeria to save a point you really would not have bet against them winning in Mozambique but the Mambas had other ideas.
This is a good example of a team that has over the last 12 months gone through a rebuilding process and their Dutch coach Mart Nooij after a year of ups and downs, has got his reward….well done to the Mambas.
Cameroon are back where they belong as far as I am concerned. They have a great tradition and have made it to their sixth finals am I am really looking forward to seeing them do well in South Africa.
Ivory Coast also made it back for a second consecutive World Cup remembering that 2006 was their first time and are really starting to put their stamp down on African football. They lost in the 2006 African Nations Cup on penalties to the hosts Egypt, followed that with by a semi final place in Ghana and now another World Cup.
They managed to qualify at the expense of the much improved Burkina Faso and my old team Malawi though both made it to Angola. I would like to offer a special well done to Kinnah Pirri my former assistant coach and the Malawi team who have done fantastic to make it to Angola hopefully they can do well.
The first team to make to South Africa was the Black Stars and they did it by beating my Sudan national team in Accra 2-0 . They have such a good squad with depth and quality all over the pitch and I think they will do well.
Going into the qualifiers I always thought they would be the team to beat and after four games it was won four lost none, scored seven and conceded none and while we were hoping they would carry that on after qualifying It was to be expected that they would take their foot off the accelerator and drop points, we did not expect them to lose in Benin.
For us in Sudan it has been a difficult time as we are in the middle of a rebuilding process but despite the results the performances of the young players has been encouraging and I am certain that this young Sudanese team will deliver in the coming months ahead.
So in the last World Cup we had four African teams make it for the first time in Ghana, Angola, Cote D’Ivoire, and Togo this simple fact says that African football is improving all the time with more associations prepared to invest in their coaches and at grassroots levels.
It is no accident then that at this next world cup you have teams who have spent years in investing in youth and are producing players on a regular basis this takes time and forward planning but it can be done
I wish all the teams well and lets hope they make Africa proud in this African World Cup.
You can read more about Stephen Constantine on his personal website...
Looking at the African side of things, what a finale we had with several games going down to the wire not to mention the play off between Egypt and Algeria here in Khartoum.
Let me first put the record straight after all the so-called trouble that was supposed to have had happened here in Sudan.
Although I did not agree with the choice of venues, my feeling was that this game could have attracted 100,000 fans never mind the 35,000 fans that crammed into such a small stadium.
The police in Sudan did an excellent job in keeping the peace and the rival fans apart for the most part and should be commended. Its not often we say that so credit where credit is due
If fans want to kill each other anywhere in the world they will find a way to do so and you can't blame the police in Sudan for anything in my opinion.
Algeria Fans Have Lots To Look Forward To
Algeria made it and now can use the African Nations Cup in their build up to the ultimate competition in the World Cup.
So let's look at the other teams to have joined them, well South Africa as hosts will of course be there but I am a little worried about them not making it to the African Cup of Nations.
It's a massive blow. I don’t care what anyone says. One competitive international equals five friendlies. South Africa are going to need to get some very good performances in the build up before going into the group stages of the World Cup.
There also going to have to hope that their best player by far Steven Pienaar will be fit and healthy after what’s looking like a long hard season for Everton.
Much Rests On Pienaar's Shoulders
Hats off to the Nigerians who went through by the skin of their teeth. Going into the final round against Kenya, the Kenyans had to win and hope that Mozambique lost to Tunisia for Kenya to make it to Angola.
It didn’t quite happen like that and the biggest losers aside from the Kenyans were the Tunisians who will not be making it to the World Cup.
Given the Tunisians' last gasp equalizer in Nigeria to save a point you really would not have bet against them winning in Mozambique but the Mambas had other ideas.
This is a good example of a team that has over the last 12 months gone through a rebuilding process and their Dutch coach Mart Nooij after a year of ups and downs, has got his reward….well done to the Mambas.
Cameroon are back where they belong as far as I am concerned. They have a great tradition and have made it to their sixth finals am I am really looking forward to seeing them do well in South Africa.
Ivory Coast also made it back for a second consecutive World Cup remembering that 2006 was their first time and are really starting to put their stamp down on African football. They lost in the 2006 African Nations Cup on penalties to the hosts Egypt, followed that with by a semi final place in Ghana and now another World Cup.
Ivory Coast Looking Dangerous
They managed to qualify at the expense of the much improved Burkina Faso and my old team Malawi though both made it to Angola. I would like to offer a special well done to Kinnah Pirri my former assistant coach and the Malawi team who have done fantastic to make it to Angola hopefully they can do well.
The first team to make to South Africa was the Black Stars and they did it by beating my Sudan national team in Accra 2-0 . They have such a good squad with depth and quality all over the pitch and I think they will do well.
Going into the qualifiers I always thought they would be the team to beat and after four games it was won four lost none, scored seven and conceded none and while we were hoping they would carry that on after qualifying It was to be expected that they would take their foot off the accelerator and drop points, we did not expect them to lose in Benin.
Ghana - First To Qualify
For us in Sudan it has been a difficult time as we are in the middle of a rebuilding process but despite the results the performances of the young players has been encouraging and I am certain that this young Sudanese team will deliver in the coming months ahead.
So in the last World Cup we had four African teams make it for the first time in Ghana, Angola, Cote D’Ivoire, and Togo this simple fact says that African football is improving all the time with more associations prepared to invest in their coaches and at grassroots levels.
It is no accident then that at this next world cup you have teams who have spent years in investing in youth and are producing players on a regular basis this takes time and forward planning but it can be done
I wish all the teams well and lets hope they make Africa proud in this African World Cup.
You can read more about Stephen Constantine on his personal website...
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
|
Thank you for your comment!
Please enter your name
Please enter your location
Please share your comment!
15 Comments
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
Fabio Capello & FA differ on public perception
The governing body played the populist game and lost a manager who still had English football's best interests at heart but would not accept responsibility without command
-
The top 20 clubs in football's money league
Deloitte's annual publication of the richest sides in football sees a familiar Spanish duo stretch their advantage over England's finest in 2010-11
-
How Capello's exit will affect England's players
As the national team enters a new era, we take a look at the players who are now destined for big things and those potentially heading for the scrapheap under a new boss
-
Cartoon: Redknapp sentenced to England service
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day ...
-
The list of clubs that could try to sign Capello
Now that the Italian is no longer the England head coach, it is likely that a number of high-profile clubs from across Europe and elsewhere will make an attempt to lure him
Advertisement
Advertisement
