Duro Ikhazuagbe
As you are reading this page, both Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia would have finished their early hour fixtures against Ecuador and Sweden respectively. The Ivorian Elephants who returned to the World Cup after 12 years hiatus, were handed a tough Ecuador fixture in their opening game of Group E starting at zero hour of Monday. But for the Ivorians to stand toe to toes with former champions France and even win their pre-World Cup warm up shows the Elephants mean business in North America.
However, against Ecuador considered one of the dark horses of this tournament, the Elephants will find no easy prey in their opponents. To finish second in CONMEBOL shows they have what it takes to play at this stage of the Beautiful Game. They signaled their presence to Group opponents when they hammered Guatemala 3-0 in their final warm up match before heading out to the Mundial.
Elsewhere, Tunisia and Sweden should be rounding up their fixture by the time people are waking up to face commerce in Tunis. In truth, Tunisia’s preparations for a third successive World Cup appearance have been far from ideal. The Carthage Eagles lost their two friendlies in June before heading out to the Mundial. Against a better prepared Swedish side, Tunisia may well be on the way to preparing ground for their eight successive exit from the World Cup at the group stage. Yes, Sweden finished at the bottom of their UEFA Nation’s League qualification race but made up with beating Poland and Ukraine in March playoffs to reach the World Cup. With such top players as Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Lindelof (Aston Villa), Anthony Isak (Liverpool), Benjamin Nygren (Celtic), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Leeds), Daniel Svensson (Dortmund), etc, our Tunisian brothers will have their hands full this morning.
After the early morning fixtures, our Blue Sharks from Cape Verde will make their debut against one of the favorite teams for the title Spain’s La Roja at 5pm Nigerian time. The reigning European champions are hoping to emulate their 2010 performance in South Africa when they won the title. Since Spain lost in their only defeat to an African team at France ‘98 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria, La Roja will come out in full force against the debutants fromCape Verde. With Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Alex Baena, Rodri, Pedri, Fabian Ruiz, Marc Cucurella, Aymeric Laporte, Marcos Llorente and goalkeeper Unai Simon in top shape, it will be a baptism of a sort for Cape Verde.
The fourth African team on parade today is the Pharaohs of Egypt who will engage Belgium in a bruising battle of wits. Going by the records, Egypt have never won a match at the World Cup since they started participating in 1934 but that may change today as the Pharaohs inspired by Mohamed Salah take on these Belgians that lack conviction in their play of recent. What Belgium couldn’t do with their golden generation, it is doubtful if these new kids and sprinkles of “leftovers” from the experienced oldies will make any difference. Yes, Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku holds the ace in the Belgian side, even with support from such stars as Kevin de Bruyne, Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans Amadou Onana, the Pharaohs also parading Omar Marmoush, Salah, Mohamed Abdelmonem and a host of others have the capacity to make possible their first win today.
Salah remains Egypt’s biggest attacking threat. His pace, movement and ability to produce moments of quality in one-on-one situations make him the focal point of the team’s counter-attacking strategy. The Pharaohs handlers will plot the game around looking to release Salah quickly whenever possession is won, particularly in wide areas where Belgium’s full-backs may be caught high up the pitch. Salah understands Thibaut Courtois’ weaknesses and will aim to capitalize on them. The midfield battle could ultimately decide the outcome of this game. Belgium will aim to dominate possession and force Egypt into long periods without the ball. Egypt, however, will seek to disrupt Belgium’s rhythm through aggressive pressing in selected moments while maintaining a compact defensive block for most of the match. Set pieces could also prove decisive. Both teams possess aerial strength and quality delivery from dead-ball situations, making corners and free kicks potential game-changing moments in what is expected to be a tightly contested affair.
With Iran and New Zealand also in the group, both nations will view this opening fixture as a golden opportunity to gain an early advantage in the race for a top-two finish.
TODAY
Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador
Sweden v Tunisia
Spain v Cape Verde
Belgium v Egypt
S’Arabia v Uruguay
