AFRICAN nationals from the countries that will represent the continent at the upcoming Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup are confident the teams will make an impression at the tournament.
The tournament kicks off in Brazil on Thursday.
Ahead of the tournament, the African teams have struggled to shrug off the “underdogs” tags that they have carried to the tournament since Egypt became the first African country to participate in the tournament in 1934.
Exactly 80 years later, Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, have the odds stacked heavily against them.
Cameroon will be the first African team to take to the field in Brazil for a clash against Mexico on Friday.
“We stand a good chance against the Mexicans. I dispute suggestions that they are the favourites. Like our team, the best they have progressed in this tournament is the quarterfinals,” said Freddy Beti, a Johannesburg-based Cameroonian.
“If we manage to overcome the problems that resulted in the players initially boycotting the flight Brazil over bonuses, I am certain we will progress from the group stages and progress even further.
“We are also grouped with Croatia and Brazil in the co-called Group of Death but seeing other teams are touted as favourites, there is less pressure on us,” he said.
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