World Cup 2018: Didier Drogba on England, African teams - and life without a ponytail

AS well as people asking me what has happened to my hair, the question I have been getting most while I have been at this World Cup is what has happened to the African teams. /et me clear up my haircut first. It is something I had done about seven months ago, but I guess I am not that good on social media I don t post enough selfies 6o, I Nnow people are not used to it, because I had my ponytail for years and years but me having no hair is not new. It does maNe things easier, though, because I spend a lot less time in the bathroom now You need to Neep your identity as a team It has been a disappointing start to the :orld &up for $frica un til Nigeria beat Iceland on )riday, there had been si[ defeats in seven games for the five $frican coun tries in 5ussia. 6o it was great to see the 6uper (agles win, but the way they did it was Must as important and impres sive. In the second half, Nigeria came to life and played the way I want to see all the $frican teams play going on the attacN, using their pace and power, and having lots of shots. 7hat is what I did not see in their first game against &roatia, when Nigeria were playing with in themselves Neeping a good shape, playing safe, and passing the ball from side to side. 7his time, they went out Must to win. 7hey played with two striN ers and they were so fast and ag gressive going forward that they frightened Iceland. 7hey were spontaneous and e[ citing, which is the way I e[pected them to play at this :orld &up and that is why they won the game. 7he point I am maNing is that you need to Neep your identity as a team. 8ntil then, 6enegal had been the only $frican team to do that, and really try to scare their opposition. It is important they Neep doing that and Nigeria too if they are going to reach the last . If they decide to stay defensive and start fearing conceding goals, they will be going home. 8nfortunately, it looNs liNe Nigeria and 6enegal are the only $frican teams who have a chance of maNing it out of their groups. (gypt are out, but it would have been a different story for them if 0ohamed 6alah was fit. I Nnow him well from our time at &helsea, when he was liNe a lit tle brother to me, and I Nnow what he brings to the (gypt team. It is not Must his threat of goals, it is his charisma. 7hey feel secure when he is on the pitch, because they Nnow they will get chances, and it is really sad that he could not perform at his best because of his inMury. It is a tragedy for him. I have been through it when I broNe my arm Must before the :orld &up. /iNe 6alah, I played but I was nowhere near when in a :orld &up you need to be at . 0orocco are out too, but at least they have had a go. 7hey have not scored a goal at this :orld &up but they created so many chances in their defeat by 3ortugal that they definitely deserved one. $nd it is going to be hard for 7unisia to rescue their situation after losing their opening game, but I always thought they were in a very difficult group with two of the teams I thinN will go far in this tournament %elgium and (n gland. (ngland, &roatia and %elgium the teams to stand out so far 7he (ngland team is anoth er subMect that has come up a lot during my time in 0oscow, where I have been worNing for )ifa as well as the %%&. I really appreciate being asNed about them, because it means my time in the 3remier /eague was memorable for a lot of people as well as for myself the years I spent at &helsea were some of the best times of my career. (ngland are actually one of my favourites for this tournament I really liNed the way they played in their opening game against 7unisia too. It is too early to say which team has stood out as a potential winner after the first weeN of the :orld &up, but I have been impressed by &roatia, and their midfielders Ivan 5aNitic, /uNa 0odric and Ivan 3erisic who were brilliant against $rgentina. 7he team I liNe the most is still %elgium, though. 2ne reason is that I have a lot of friends in their squad, but they have so much quality too and I don t Nnow why more people don t speaN about them as winners. I m a fan of striNers who taNe a chance and 9$5 :e have seen a lot of suppos edly smaller football nations frus trate the big sides so far at this :orld &up but the highlights for me have been when we have seen some e[citing attacNing play. I am talNing about &ristiano 5onaldo s performance for 3ortu gal against 6pain, or $hmed 0usa for Nigeria against Iceland. 7hey were both willing to try things, and they were not afraid to miss. I have also been a big fan of the video assistant referee 9$5 , which has played its part in some big moments at the tournament so far. :ith the number of penalties that have been given, you might thinN I am speaNing as a former striNer there but I actually thinN it is a positive for defenders too. It reduces mistaNes both ways. I thought the challenge on Ney mar during the &osta 5ica match was a penalty when I first saw it, but the decision was correctly ruled out because it was too soft. 7hese Nind of decisions are game changing so it is important to get them right. +aving 9$5 at this :orld &up has been the best innovation and improvement of modern football it is a great evolution of the game.