AFRICA'S BIG FIVE

There was shock and confusion, new-found elation and much celebration as Togo, Angola, Ivory Coast and Ghana all qualified for the World Cup Finals for the first time ever late last year.

Only Tunisia kept heed with the hierarchy that has so long existed in African football by qualifying for the finals at the expense of fierce rivals Morocco.

Quite how the likes of Cameroon, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria missed out on what seemed a sure ticket to Germany 2006 remains a mystery on the African continent.
Complacency, overconfidence and the reluctance of their leading European players to forsake club commitments for their countries, allied with the fierce determination of the rising minnows, led to the traditional superpowers being somewhat embarrassed.

But for the fortunate five, the celebrations were shortlived as they were brought crashing back down to earth at the African Nations Cup Finals in Egypt at the start of the year.

Bar the Ivory Coast, who got to the finals of the biennial tournament, and Tunisia, who produced a display best described as mediocre, the remaining trio failed miserably as the continent's superpowers exacted some immediate revenge against the new kids on the block.

Quite simply if the likes of Togo and Angola fail so miserably against their African opponents, do they even have a chance in hell against the top teams in the world?
Certainly the Ivory Coast carry Africa's hopes - with top Premiership players like Didier Drogba and Arsenal duo Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue on board they could spring an upset or two.

"The Ivory Coast are a very strong team that are going to give teams a lot of trouble in the World Cup,"  Spanish coach Luis Aragones said after his team’s slim 3-2 win over the Africans in an international friendly.

 "They are a strong and physically powerful side and we had to play well to beat them." But they have certainly not been done any favours with the draw for the tournament – they face favourites Argentina, a star-studded and vibrant Holland side out to prove themselves, and a Serbia & Montenegro team that conceded only one goal in their qualifying campaign.

 Their biggest asset is striker Didier Drogba. He was the 2003-2004 French Player of the Year while playing for Marseille before transferring to Chelsea for $45 million. The success of this team rests squarely on his shoulders, both for his leadership and his offensive power. Drogba has an intimidating combination of strength and power and he has an ability to lose defenders that few can match.

PSV Eindhoven’s Arouna Kone, is the second jewel in the attack for the Elephants. Young and unpolished, he has the ability to make moves that cause jaws to drop. Ivory Coast is lucky to not have to rely on him as their primary threat, but he stands a good chance of becoming a national hero before the tournament ends. Other players to watch include Kolo Touré, the star Arsenal defender who will lock down the backfield and Jean-Jacques Tizié, the goalkeeper who was a wall at the African Cup of Nations, earning the first team all-star honors.

On a less tangible level, a huge strength for Ivory Coast is that they go into the tournament without huge expectations. They are in a difficult group and they have never been to the World Cup before, so few people outside of their country will be expecting big things. This spot under the radar may well be the perfect situation for the Elephants to spring up and surprise one or two of the giants they will be meeting in group play. They will have nerves of their own to overcome, but those nerves won't be magnified by the weight of expectations and that is a gift for this squad.
The biggest concern for Ivory Coast fans heading into the tournament has to be the midfield. Didier Zokora and Yaya Touré, the younger brother of Kolo, are the only two strong players in the backfield, but they unfortunately play the same position. The right side is mired in frustrating inconsistency, with both players often seemingly leaving their brain on the bench when they hit the pitch. The left side is not quite so bad, but neither player is a complete package. If both players could play at once they would combine to be an impressive foe, but on their own each is lacking.
 Africa's second-best hope Ghana, have called on the likes of Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah to spearhead their first ever challenge at the World Cup.
After crashing out of the African Nations Cup in the first round, coach Ratomir Dujkovic axed more than half his trusted stars by naming a new-look squad for Germany.

But being paired against the Czech Republic, Italy and the United States in Group E the Black Stars have their work cut out.  
Ghana has a few international stars that could help their bid in the World Cup. They boast the most expensive African player ever in midfielder in Essien, but the heart and soul of the Black Stars is Appiah, who is the undisputed leader of the team and is vital to Ghana's success. Indeed Appiah was the catalyst behind Ghana's qualifying effort for the World Cup along with Haminu Dramani's wing play and agility of goalkeeper Sammy Adjei, all of whom are standouts on the Ghanaian squad. Another young talented Ghanian, who was inexplicably left off the African Nations Cup squad, is powerful striker Isaac Boakye.
 Out of the African contingent, it is Ghana that seems to have the ability to make it through to the second round, but it will take something special to get by Italy, Czech Republic and the USA. However, they do have the ability to win and perhaps cause an upset or two against teams who do not take them as a serious threat.
  However, the four-time Africa Cup of Nations winners main weakness is in the striking squad as was evident in the Nations Cup in Egypt. Another hole in Ghana's play is the inexperience in defense and lack of scoring threats on the front line. These issues will all need to be solved by Dujkovic if Ghana hopes to move beyond the first round.
Angola will compete against a promising Portugal side, Mexico and Iran and their coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves is the first to admit fans shouldn't expect too much from his developing side.
"We must be realists," said Oliveira Goncalves. "The other teams in our group have previous World Cup experience and we are going for the first time."
Angola is team with blazing speed, a ton of heart, and a stout defense. During qualifications, Angola allowed only six goals, which were the second-fewest among African sides in qualifiers.  
Led by star striker Fabrice "Akwa" Maieco, an outspoken captain and national hero, Akwa is the heart and soul of the squad. He is not only a clutch scorer, he's a cultural ambassador. "Angola is not just about oil, war and poverty," he says.
Although previously with Benfica, Akwa currently plays in Qatar for the club team Al Wakra. At 33, he is the oldest player on the national team, and he is by far the most experienced in international play. During qualifications, he scored some very decisive and timely goals against Rwanda and Nigeria which catapulted Angola to its first-ever World Cup appearance.
Pedro "Mantorras" Manuel is another key contributor. This speedy-striker plays his ball in Portugal with Benfica. He's had injuries to worry about as of late, and he only participated in three World Cup qualifiers. Still, Mantorras did manage to find the net once during those games. Angola will need Mantorras to be healthy if they are to make a splash in Group D.
Familiarity and continuity are big positives for the southern Africa nation. There are plenty of players on the national squad that were coached by Gonclaves at the 2001 World Youth Championships. This list includes players like Mantorras, Gilberto, Lama and Mendonca. Inexperience could, however, be a factor for Angola, as well as the need to generate scores; they scored only 12 goals during qualifying, the lowest of any of the five African finalists.
Togo meanwhile have dispensed with the services of Stephen Keshi, the coach who engineered their qualification, after their first-round exit in Egypt. He was replaced with Otto Pfister who has only had two months to stamp his own authority on the country that declared a public holiday after their qualification last year.
Star striker Adebayor led the way with 11 goals to qualify. Adebayor is a rare talent, and a guy who seems to be genuinely satisfied with his life. In December, he told fifaworldcup.com. "I am very happy with my life and have no regrets," he said. "I like a good laugh and I live from day to day. That's how it's been since the day I was born. It's just the way I am." That shows a lot of maturity for a 22-year old kid who carries a nation's hopes on his back heading into Germany this summer.
Togo is ranked No. 59 in the world by FIFA, and it will take something special to advance out of Group G, with the likes of France, South Korea and Switzerland with which to contend. Anything is possible, however.
Thirty year old Jean-Paul Abalo, is the defence workhorse for the west Africans, he's the old timer on the squad, and will be the one the other players look to for guidance and leadership, as he has the most experience of anyone on the team.
On a more serious note, Togo’s strength lies in the element of the team; the team is young, inexperienced, and no one is giving it much of a chance. And that is its best chance – that some team will take it lightly and get burned.
 It looks like Tunisia, the only country with any previous World Cup experience, have the best chance of advancing to the next round.
They will do battle against Spain, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia in Group H and they must fancy their chances of causing an upset.
And their coach Roger Lemerre is an experienced World Cup campaigner – he was Aime Jacquet's number two for France's successful 1998 campaign but experienced the reverse side of the coin four years later when he was in charge as France's title defence ended without a win or a goal scored.
Tunisia doesn't have the power or the potential that the 2002 French squad did, but Lemerre will be highly motivated to get the most out of his charges so that he can prove himself on soccer's biggest stage.
He will be helped immeasurably by Tunisia government's willingness to issue passports to promising foreign players. Francileudo Dos Santos is a 26-year-old Brazilian who gave up hopes of cracking the Brazilian squad in 2003 and became a Tunisian citizen. He is a striker for Toulouse FC of the French Ligue 1. He was transferred there for 3.25 million Euros after netting 35 goals in two years for FC Sochaux, helping them return to Ligue 1. He is an immensely talented and incredibly fast, though slightly undersized, forward who was hurt by the incredible depth at striker in Brazil. He scored 6 goals in qualifying and he will be relied on for offensive firepower in Germany. Supporting him will be fellow striker Haykel Guemamdia. He's young and very raw, but already can be considered among the top flight of African strikers. This tournament can only make him better.
Hatem Trabelsi, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam, is arguably one of the best right-side defenders in the world. He is very quick and can ably shift to the offensive when the opportunity presents itself. He, along with Riadh Bouazizi in the midfield, will be the strong veteran presence relied upon to keep the team on track.
The team is decent defensively, but it could certainly be better. It allowed 9 goals in the qualifying run. Defensively, the team has a bend but don't break approach that works fine against much of its African competition, but will be challenged by the offensive firepower that high level teams like Spain and even Ukraine can produce. If it can't hold up and limit the goals its opponents score, Tunisia may very well find itself too far behind to keep up.