Brazil great Pele predicted that an African team would win the World Cup before 2000 but that possibility still looks very remote ten years into the 21st century. The 2010 World Cup is being played on an African soil for the first time but the Dark Continent's representatives barely showed that they can make the most of such an advantage. None of the African participants even look like resembling Cameroon and Senegal sides who reached the quarter finals of the 1990 and 2002 World Cups respectively – the farthest the African teams could go. Hosts South Africa, who still have France and Uruguay to confront in Group A, settled for a 1-1 draw with Mexico in the tournament's opener while Nigeria showed little resistance to lose 1-0 to Argentina. Algeria failed to threaten minnows Slovenia and were eventually defeated 1-0 and Cameroon appeared a shadow of their old selves to suffer a loss to Japan by the same scoreline. Ivory Coast fared better, holding Portugal to a goalless draw while it looked like they could cause an upset and defeat the 2006 World Cup semi-finalists. Ghana, runners up at January's African Cup of Nations in Angola, were the brightest African side, overcoming Serbia 1-0 with a late penalty from striker Asamoah Gyan. However, it remains to be seen whether the Black Stars would be able to go beyond the first knockout phase which they reached on their maiden World Cup appearance four years ago in Germany. Creativity Problem
Diouf led Senegal to the 2002 World Cup quarters The six African teams shared one problem during the first round of games - they struggled for creativity. An on-pitch orchestrator, who can bamboozle opponents, feed strikers with deft and neat passes and score himself, is nowhere to be seen. The fans might have hoped to trumpet their vuvuzela to cheer players who remind them of the likes of Roger Milla, Jay-Jay Okocha and El-Hadji Diouf - all of which made the difference with their national teams. Samuel Eto'o is Cameroon's current inspirational player but coach Paul Le Guen opted to field him on the right of a three-pronged attack, a tactical choice which failed to pay dividends. The 29-year-old, a pivotal member of Inter Milan's treble-winning side last season, was closely marked and was not helped with his teammates. "Eto'o plays in the position I choose for him and I take the responsibility for that," Frenchman Le Guen, who experimented several new players at the expense of some old guards like Geremi and Rigobert Song, said. Nigeria were brave against Argentina but looked toothless without the presence of a true leader and their defense allowed the two-time world champions, led by Barcelona wizard Lionel Messi, to launch waves of attacks. The Super Eagles had few chances to score but they could not seize any of them, with their uninspiring forwards failing to deliver. South Africa's modest footballers had the upper hand in a 1-1 draw with Mexico but are likely to face much stiffer competition against Uruguay and France.
Embarrassing mistake for Chaouchi The creativity problem was evident in Algeria's 1-0 defeat by Slovenia when the Arab's sole representatives failed to create a single goalscoring opportunity and could not even keep a clean sheet after keeper Faouzi Chaouchi let a tame shot slip through his grasp. "We must recover and prepare for an even more difficult match against England, who are the best of the group," Algeria coach Rabah Saadane said. "It's going to be very difficult now. We had a great opportunity (against Slovenia) and we missed it." Ghana were also short of imagination but at least they were capable of closing down spaces in their own half and launching their trademark counter attacks that resulted in Gyan's goal against Serbia. Ivory Coast appeared livelier than January's Elephants who were feeble during the Nations Cup. They enjoyed better possession than Portugal and looked more dangerous. They can also take heart from the second-half introduction of talismanic striker Didier Drogba, who played with a protective cast after breaking his forearm before the tournament. The latter duo have a decent chance of advancing to the second round but the question remains: when would an African team be able to launch an assault on the world's most coveted trophy? The answer is still unknown.
