Senegal show how

The first week of the World Cup in Russia has been exhilarating, living up to pre-tournament hype as teams delivered excitement in almost every match.

At the time of writing, there had not been a single 0-0 draw, with all matches producing a goal or two, and adequate on-field drama to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

But we are concerned about the poor showing of African teams, who promised so much heading into the event but have done little.

With the exception of Senegal, our continent’s representatives have been quite disappointing in Russia, losing six out of seven matches. Two of the teams, Morocco and Egypt, bowed out of the tournament after just two games. Tunisia and Nigeria could follow suit this weekend. The Nigerians are first in action this afternoon against Iceland, while the Tunisians take on the highly rated Belgium tomorrow.

It’s doom and gloom for our continent, but Senegal have provided a ray of hope with their solid performance against Poland this week, whom they beat 2-1.

While some of the continent’s teams are preparing to head home, the Lions of Teranga can virtually seal a place in the next round should they beat Japan on Sunday.

The question African teams should be asking themselves is, how did Senegal get is so right? For starters, the west Africans stuck by their coach Aliou Cisse despite failure at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Cisse in turn has ensured almost all his back-room staff is populated by people he trusts, mainly his former teammates from Senegal’s successful team of 2001-2004.

We wish the Senegalese all the best as they carry the hopes of an entire continent.