Wacky 2010 African Qualifiers

Published 07/06/2008 - 4:31 a.m. GMT



Thank the football gods for the break in this rather unpredictable 2010 World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifiers phase. With the exception of Nigeria securing a spot, the remaining 19 are still up for grabs. That might be a good thing for true football purist and neutral fans but, if you are Cameroonian, Ghanaian, Senegalese or Egyptian you are sitting on pins and needles after chewing off your fingernails and pulling out your hair.
It will take a very brave individual to predict who will survive and sail through to the second and final round. To sweeten the pot, bet your house and maybe throw in your second wife if you so dare. Based on what has already transpired, I am not ashamed to emphatically announce that I harbor no such bravery. I love all three of my wives and I believe that I am logically on point and usually sensible. If nothing else, I hold on to the motto, once bitten twice shy.
How can anyone bet against Gabon, Rwanda, or Cape Verde making it, unless you have been watching too many Nollywood movies and you believe in all that spiritual mambo jumbo.
Ok, fine. Ghana has Muntari and Essien. Cameroon has Eto’o, etc. But guess what? By the time match day 5 and 6 rolls around, all the major European leagues will be in full swing and who is to say that some of these players will not revert to their “prima donna” attitudes, or worse, suffer major injuries or the customary country versus club war. Ok, it is a FIFA international match day, give me a break! Money over matters.
Anyway, let’s try and make sense of these Qualifiers and where each country stands at this juncture. Bear in mind that the group winners, along with the 8 best second place finishers will qualify. Oops! Hold on, you thought it was that easy, it gets better.
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