Sadio Mané expected to be the headline African star at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but the Senegal talisman has been ruled out of the tournament in Qatar.
The two-time African Footballer of the Year has failed to overcome a calf injury he picked up in Bayern Munich’s penultimate game before the winter World Cup.
365Scores analyses the five African nations and how they might fare in their respective groups.
– Senegal
Mané, 30, was voted runner-up in the Ballon d’Or last month after a terrific 2021/22 season in which he steered his nation to Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) glory. In addition, the forward also got his hands on an FA Cup winner’s medal with former team Liverpool, who also reached the UEFA Champions League final.
His absence will be sorely felt by his Senegal teammates, who will now have to work that much harder without their main man in Qatar. Mané is his country’s greatest ever goalscorer, with 34 goals for the Teranga Lions. He has 93 international outings to his name and is six appearances shy of Senegal’s record cap holder Henri Camara.
Senegal have qualified for back-to-back World Cup tournaments for the first time in its history and, overall, this is the third time they have made it to the finals. The West Africans first appeared at the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan, remarkably reaching the quarter-finals on World Cup debut.
Current Senegal head coach Aliou Cissé captained his nation at the 2002 finals as they stunned holders France in their group opener. The Senegalese advanced to the knockouts as group runners-up, beating Sweden in the last-16 before narrowly losing in extra-time to Turkey – a commendable effort at the first time of asking.
Cissé, 46, is now almost eight years into his tenure in charge of the national team after he served as assistant to three managers before him. Earlier this year, Senegal conquered the African continent for the first time after edging Egypt on penalties. The Teranga Lions later overcame Egypt once more, this time in World Cup qualifying play-offs.
Under Cisse’s jurisdiction, Senegal have become a true powerhouse within African football and they are the highest-ranked African nation (18th) heading to Qatar 2022. Without the excellence of Mané, however, other players will need to conjure something special if Senegal are to mount a successful tournament in the Middle East.
Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton) and Cheikhou Kouyaté (Nottingham Forest) both went to the 2018 event in Russia and the midfield duo should remain a mainstay for their country in these coming weeks. Both players play in the Premier League, as they did four years ago, with Gueye in his second spell with Everton while Kouyate now plays for a third different team in the English top flight.
Chelsea pair Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly will be integral at the back for Senegal. Other well-known players of theirs include winger Ismaïla Sarr (Watford), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City), and Fodé Ballo-Touré (AC Milan).
Senegal are in Group A with the Netherlands, Ecuador, and hosts Qatar. The Teranga Lions are 2.00 to advance to the Round of 16. (Bet365)
– Tunisia
Tunisia retains its place on the world stage as the North Africans prepare to feature at the tournament for a sixth time. The Tunisians have won just two of their 15 matches at the World Cup and they crashed out from the groups at each of the five previous editions they were involved in.
Tunisia won four of six games in their WC qualifying group, before beating Mali in the play-offs to confirm their tickets to Qatar 2022. They are the third highest-ranked African nation, currently sitting 30th in the FIFA world rankings.
Head coach Jalal Kadri is less than a year into his post, after the native took over from countryman Mondher Kebaier following a disappointing AFCON campaign. Unlike select African nations, Tunisia do not necessarily boast world-class players scattered around some of the very best clubs in the world.
The majority of players selected for Tunisia’s World Cup campaign will likely prove unfamiliar for staunch fans of European football. In fact, 15 out of 26 play for clubs outside of Europe. A chunk of Tunisia’s current internationals are signed to local teams, while a handful of others play in Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Ex-Premier League player Wahbi Khazri was the top-scoring Tunisian in CAF WC qualifying, with three goals.
(Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
If there was one name to keep tabs on, it would perhaps be Hannibal Mejbri. The 19-year-old was born in France but opted to switch his international allegiance to his parents’ country of birth. Currently on loan from Manchester United, he plays for Birmingham City in the EFL Championship having joined United’s academy in 2019.
Hannibal offers creativity as well as high levels of work rate and aggression. He made his international debut in June 2021 and was majorly involved in Tunisia’s route to the FIFA Arab Cup final at the end of last year.
Tunisia are in Group D with Australia, Denmark, and World Cup holders France. With a particularly competitive group in question, the North Africans are favourites (1.16) to exit the tournament at the group stage. They are 4.50 to advance to the knockouts. (Bet365)
– Morocco
In 2018, Morocco qualified for its first World Cup in two decades. Now, having qualified for back-to-back tournaments for just a second time, Qatar 2022 is set to be a sixth World Cup showing for the Moroccans.
Only once have Morocco reached the World Cup knockouts, back in 1986 when they avoided defeat in their group with one win and two draws. Overall, the North Africans have won two out of 16 games at the World Cup.
The Atlas Lions were the only team to win all six games in WC qualifying groups and they sealed qualification for the finals by overcoming DR Congo, 5-2 on aggregate, in the play-offs. Morocco are the second-best African footballing nation, as per the FIFA rankings, as they occupy 22nd place in the world.
Morocco have a promising crop of talent, particularly at full-back with Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain) and Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern) both well-known in European football.
Hakim Ziyech was recalled to the national set-up after the Chelsea playmaker announced his retirement from international football earlier this year, amidst a row with former Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic. Said coach left his role in August and was succeeded by Walid Regragui, who has since taken the decision to reinstate Ziyech into the international fray.
Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and striker Youssef En-Nesyri (both Sevilla) are also included in the Morocco squad for the World Cup, as are defender Nayef Aguerd (West Ham), midfielder Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina), and forward Sofiane Boufal.
Morocco face a tough task in Group F where the Atlas Lions find themselves with Belgium, Canada, and 2018 runners-up Croatia. Morocco are 3.00 to advance and 1.36 to crash out of the groups. (Bet365)
– Cameroon
As they embrace Qatar 2022, Cameroon will have played at seven of the past nine eight editions of the event, failing to qualify in 2006 and 2018. In total this will be their eighth time at the World Cup finals, more than any other nation on the African continent.
The Indomitable Lions edged past Algeria in the play-offs, advancing via away goals, after they had won all but one of their six group qualifiers.
Rigobert Song, Cameroon’s most capped player of all-time with 137 caps, is currently serving as manager of the national team after replacing Toni Conceicao in February this year.
Cameroon did not manage a win in either of their previous two World Cup campaigns in 2010 and 2014, and they have collected just a single victory from 15 matches stretching back to 1994.
One of the West Africans’ most crucial players, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, recently penned a new long-term deal with Italian side Napoli after initially joining them on loan last season. The 27-year-old has proven his vital importance and the Gli Azzurri are showcasing their dominance atop Serie A.
Official, confirmed. Franck Zambo Anguissa signs new contract with Napoli valid until June 2025. 🚨🔵 #SerieA
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 11, 2022
Napoli will also have an option to extend the contract until 2027. pic.twitter.com/IR55dOMCwj
Other Cameroon players signed to top European clubs are goalkeeper André Onana (Inter Milan) and Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) recently declared his senior international allegiance to Cameroon after representing birth nation France until under-21 level. Fellow striker Karl Toko Ekambi is with French side Lyon, while captain Vincent Aboubakar plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr.
Aboubakar, 30, is the most-capped active player for Cameroon and he was the top scorer with eight goals at AFCON earlier this year.
The Indomitable Lions are in Group G with Serbia, Switzerland, and five-time World Cup winners Brazil. Cameroon are tipped to be eliminated from the group (1.16), while they are 5.00 to progress for the first time since 1990. (Bet365)
– Ghana
The Black Stars are set to appear at the World Cup finals for a fourth time after they qualified for three successive events from 2006 to 2014.
Ghana reached the Round of 16 on World Cup debut before bettering their return four years later in South Africa. Led by star striker Asamoah Gyan, the West Africans progressed into the knockouts and dispatched of the USA in extra-time. Ghana met Uruguay in the quarters, an intense battle in which the sides couldn’t be separated after 120 minutes.
The men from Africa quite literally came within an arm’s reach of the semi-finals as Luis Suarez was shown a red card in extra-time for using his hands to obstruct a goalward header. Gyan missed the subsequent spot-kick and the South Americans went on to win on penalties and advance to the semi-finals.
At Qatar 2022, Ghana and Uruguay will lock horns once more with the two sides due to meet in Group H. The Black Stars are out for revenge, 12 years in the making, after a Suarez handball essentially denied them from becoming the first African nation to reach the final-four at the World Cup.
Present day, Ghana qualified for Qatar 2022 by sneaking past Nigeria in qualifying play-offs, by virtue of the away goal rule. Previously, the Black Stars topped their group courtesy of a controversial win over South Africa, in which there was an inquest for alleged match-fixing.
Ghana, ranked 61st in the world, are the lowest-ranked nation competing at the World Cup this year.
This is the first time since 1990 that neither Ivory Coast nor Nigeria are at the World Cup finals.
Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Daniel Amartey (Leicester), Mohammed Salisu (Southampton), and Tariq Lamptey (Brighton) all play in the Premier League, while Iñaki Williams plies his trade with Athletic Bilbao in Spain.
Williams earned his Black Stars debut just two months ago after previously earning a solitary cap for Spain, the country he was born in, back in 2016. Lamptey also converted his international allegiance to Ghana after turning down the chance to represent his birth nation, England, at senior level.
Mohammed Kudus, 22, has emerged as a regular first-teamer at Dutch outfit Ajax, having been at the club for two-and-a-half years. This season the attacking midfielder has scored nine goals in the Eredivisie and Champions League.
With Portugal, South Korea, and Uruguay, the Black Stars are pitted in a tough group in which any of the teams may progress. With that said, Ghana are favourites (1.22) to exit the tournament at the earliest stage possible and the least likely (4.00) to finish inside the top two in Group H. (Bet365)
A recent change in FIFA rules has made it easier for players to switch national team allegiances and there will be some players heading to the World Cup in Qatar who have represented other nations in the past.
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 15, 2022
The FIFA World Cup gets underway on Sunday as hosts Qatar take on Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium.
