by Antonio Martinez

Created on: October 12, 2009

As the World Cup qualifying reaches its climax in Africa, one can begin to wonder what surprises await the world as South Africa and the continent invites the world to the biggest tournament. Can Africa shock the world and produce an unlikely champion?

First, consider South Africa. They may not have lost a lot of their luster since they last participated in the World Cup in 2002, and they also struggled in qualifying for the World Cup (just a reminder that although South Africa is the hosts for the 2010 World Cup, the qualifiers served for another purpose: to see if South Africa can qualify for the Cup of Africa Nations in Angola next year).

What fans saw during the Confederations Cup this past June was a nation united and a spirit revitalized after recent disappointments, particularly from the disappointing campaign four years ago, struggling in a group which had Ghana, DR Congo and Burkina Faso.

The last country to host a World Cup after missing out on the tournament four years earlier was France in 1998, and that country won the tournament. South Africa could achieve this feat twelve years later.

Ghana and the Ivory Coast are also good favorites to be champions of the tournament on African soil. These two nations boast talented players, something African fans have not seen since the days of Cameroonian football. In the last tournament, both nations actually competed well with the heavyweights.

For Ghana, the Czech Republic victory was a shocking result, as was the victory over the United States (although that game was the fifth straight loss for the United States when playing the third and final game of group stage play since 1990). As for the Ivory Coast, it was a case of luck that sent the Ivory Coast to Germany 2006, with Cameroon, who beat the Ivory Coast at Abijan in the penultimate match 3-2, missing a crucial penalty kick against Egypt late in stoppage time.

It was also luck that prevented, that sent the Ivory Coast into the Group of Death, being drawn with Argentina, the Netherlands and Serbia & Montenegro. However, it will be luck that the Ivory Coast will steal critical points from their opponents whey they do compete in South Africa.

Right now, six African nations are still in the running, but only three can win the group: Cameroon and Gabon in Group A; Tunisia and Nigeria in Group B; Algeria and Egypt in Group C. Of those six, Cameroon has the best chance of going deep if they make the World Cup, with 'if' being the operative word, as Cameroonian fans recall in 2006.

Even though they beat the Ivory Coast twice, Cameroon dropped critical points, en route to missing out on Germany 2006. For Nigeria and Tunisia, both are unbeaten, but it is a Nigeria tie at Mozambique early in qualifying that has Tunisia in the driver's seat, and whoever comes out of the group could pose a real threat, especially Tunisia, who has played in the last three World Cups.

For Algeria and Egypt, they meet each other, so it a case of whoever wins the match. Egypt has the experience of playing in the most recent Confederations Cup, but Algerians would love to see their nation return to the glory days of the 1980s, where they shocked West Germany in Spain in their first World Cup match.

The possiblity of an African nation winning the World Cup is indeed real. With a bit of luck, Africa will be partying in 2010. If an African nation were to win the World Cup, it would most likely be Ghana, only because of their history and success on the continent, but the Ivory Coast would not be far behind.

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