June 19, 2010 6:49 PM 
Mixed bag of results for African sides so far
- Posted by Mark Gleeson
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Going into a World Cup, after a lengthy qualifying campaign and a barrage of warm-up friendlies, you would expect coaches would have strategy and planning well in hand.
Africa's representatives at the 2010 finals have debunked this presumption, however, with frequent tinkering that has succeeded and failed in equal measure.
Algeria drew with England on Friday night after some radical changes to their lineup by coach Rabah Saadane, whose squad has been markedly overhauled since qualification in November and whose team took to the field at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town on Friday baring little resemblance to the side competing in the African Nations Cup at the start of the year.
The sacking of captain Yazid Mansouri, a veteran of several years' consistent service, was one of several changes that smacked of desperation from a panicky coach, but Saadane is now basking in the glory of making England look most ordinary.
He has used three different goalkeepers since the Nations Cup in Angola and before this World Cup suddenly went and found a whole new batch of Frenchmen with Algerian roots to supposedly bolster his squad.
Cameroon's Paul Le Guen went with an eccentric selection before the Japan game, much changed from his consistent choices hitherto, dropping two key players in goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni and midfielder Alexander Song, pressing defensive midfielder Stephane Mbia into a right back role and putting Samuel Eto'o wide out on the wing.
They lost 1-0.
Pressure from players
Resultantly there has been palace revolt with the squad, senior players pressing Le Guen into changing his side, dropping the younger players he was picking and restoring some of the old guard to the lineup.
As a result, Song and Geremi Fotso Njitap were back against Denmark on Saturday night although Kameni remained benched. It initially seemed the players might be on to something, but Cameroon eventually lost 2-1 and are the first side eliminated from the World Cup
Sven Goran Eriksson, whose Ivorian side play top-ranked Brazil on Sunday, has seemingly made his mark within three weeks of settling into the temporary job.
His moving Didier Zokora from his long standing role as the hard man of the midfield into a defender came after he had been working with his new defence for the first days of his tenure and quickly realising, as was all too evident at the Nations Cup, that drastic changes were needed.
Eriksson seems to have struck a cord with the players in a short spell of time and might yet prove a fine acquisition, albeit at the 11th hour, by the Ivorians.
Jury out
But the jury is still out on his Swedish compatriot Lars Lagerback, as Nigeria face certain elimination, unless they beat South Korea in their last group match on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles have lost both matches, albeit narrowly against Argentina and Greece, with Lagerback's defensive choices proving poor and the omission of Obafemi Martins from his attack, foolhardy.
He has not had much time either in the job, appointed only in March, but unlike Eriksson not seemed able to give his side a decent shape and confident feel.
Ghana have had to contend with the usual injury crisis, something Milovan Rajevac has got used to, but again he has sidelined Sulley Muntari, arguably their best player once Michael Essien dropped out before the World Cup because of injury.
Hosts South Africa are the one team not to tinker too much and, ironically, that has proven their downfall.
They have virtually fielded the same side for months now and their approach was far too easy for Uruguay to figure and plan for. As a result the hosts lost 3-0 to the South Americans on Wednesday and are now left only with the slimmest of mathematical chances of gaining a knockout round berth.
Africa's representatives at the 2010 finals have debunked this presumption, however, with frequent tinkering that has succeeded and failed in equal measure.
Algeria drew with England on Friday night after some radical changes to their lineup by coach Rabah Saadane, whose squad has been markedly overhauled since qualification in November and whose team took to the field at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town on Friday baring little resemblance to the side competing in the African Nations Cup at the start of the year.
The sacking of captain Yazid Mansouri, a veteran of several years' consistent service, was one of several changes that smacked of desperation from a panicky coach, but Saadane is now basking in the glory of making England look most ordinary.
He has used three different goalkeepers since the Nations Cup in Angola and before this World Cup suddenly went and found a whole new batch of Frenchmen with Algerian roots to supposedly bolster his squad.
Cameroon's Paul Le Guen went with an eccentric selection before the Japan game, much changed from his consistent choices hitherto, dropping two key players in goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni and midfielder Alexander Song, pressing defensive midfielder Stephane Mbia into a right back role and putting Samuel Eto'o wide out on the wing.
They lost 1-0.
Pressure from players
Resultantly there has been palace revolt with the squad, senior players pressing Le Guen into changing his side, dropping the younger players he was picking and restoring some of the old guard to the lineup.
As a result, Song and Geremi Fotso Njitap were back against Denmark on Saturday night although Kameni remained benched. It initially seemed the players might be on to something, but Cameroon eventually lost 2-1 and are the first side eliminated from the World Cup
Sven Goran Eriksson, whose Ivorian side play top-ranked Brazil on Sunday, has seemingly made his mark within three weeks of settling into the temporary job.
His moving Didier Zokora from his long standing role as the hard man of the midfield into a defender came after he had been working with his new defence for the first days of his tenure and quickly realising, as was all too evident at the Nations Cup, that drastic changes were needed.
Eriksson seems to have struck a cord with the players in a short spell of time and might yet prove a fine acquisition, albeit at the 11th hour, by the Ivorians.
Jury out
But the jury is still out on his Swedish compatriot Lars Lagerback, as Nigeria face certain elimination, unless they beat South Korea in their last group match on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles have lost both matches, albeit narrowly against Argentina and Greece, with Lagerback's defensive choices proving poor and the omission of Obafemi Martins from his attack, foolhardy.
He has not had much time either in the job, appointed only in March, but unlike Eriksson not seemed able to give his side a decent shape and confident feel.
Ghana have had to contend with the usual injury crisis, something Milovan Rajevac has got used to, but again he has sidelined Sulley Muntari, arguably their best player once Michael Essien dropped out before the World Cup because of injury.
Hosts South Africa are the one team not to tinker too much and, ironically, that has proven their downfall.
They have virtually fielded the same side for months now and their approach was far too easy for Uruguay to figure and plan for. As a result the hosts lost 3-0 to the South Americans on Wednesday and are now left only with the slimmest of mathematical chances of gaining a knockout round berth.
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About the Author
Mark Gleeson
Mark Gleeson lives in Cape Town and is a world-renowned authority on African soccer, having spent the last 25 years writing about the sport. He was honoured for his services to the game on the continent with a Merit Award from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2008. He has won numerous journalism awards in his native South Africa, where he currently also works for satellite TV station SuperSport as a match commentator. He also writes extensively on both South African and African soccer.
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