Appiah Expects World Cup Surprise from Nigeria and Senegal

Ghana coachKwesi Appiah claims that Senegal and Nigeria have the potential to be a surprise package at the World Cup. Unlike in the last few editions of the World Cup, African teams are not the strongest this year’s tournament. This is due to a mixed run of form for teams like Nigeria. Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco are the other representatives from this continent. The group stages have produced a mixed draw for the African teams; Senegal are in a group containing Japan, Colombia, and Poland. Meanwhile, Nigeria are up against the likes of Iceland and Argentina in the group matches.

A major absentee from the World Cup is Ghana, who have been a steady force when it comes to major international competitions throughout the world. However, there has been an alarming dip in the quality of the Ghanaian national team and this resulted in the team failed to qualify for the World Cup 2018 in Russia. If Ghana had reached the tournament, they would have created a record of reaching the World Cup in succession as they were a strong presence at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Back then,Kwesi Appiah became the first local coach to help the national team reach the finals of the competition.

Ghana will be making a complete overhaul in the coming months.“Most of the African countries at the World Cup have got very young squads and I believe they can surprise many at the tournament. Nigeria and Senegal are doing well with young players who want to achieve something and are surely going to make a huge impact at the World Cup.These countries only need the right mentality for the tournament and they can become the surprise package,” said Appiah. Ghana’s next match is the African Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya in September.