Posts Categorized as ‘Africa’

Africa, United States

Bob Bradley Update: Egypt tops Uganda in friendly

For a moment it looked as though Bob Bradley’s already voluminous troubles as manager of Egypt would be increasing, but Egypt scored a goal in the 60th minute and another in stoppage time to come back from an early deficit and win their friendly match with Uganda, 2-1, Thursday.

A defensive gaffe in the first half put Egypt behind in the 35th minute as center back Mahmoud Fathalla struggled to deal with a tame long ball from Uganda. He inadvertently played it past veteran Egypt keeper Essam El-Hadary and Fabian Derrick Kizoto was able to beat the keeper to the ball and put it into the back of the net.

While Egypt had been the better team all game and continued to have chances, that goal stood until the 60th minute when Mohamed Salah was the recipient of a superb pass from Shikabala. The young talent (who will be on display at the London Olympics if you’re looking for somebody to follow) took one touch to settle and slotted the equalizer into the back of the net. (Video at bottom of post.)

It appeared the teams would split the reward, but Bradley’s side got a little bit of the luck that has eluded them so frequently in 2012. Egypt earned a corner in stoppage time and took it short. Mohamed Aboutrica rose above the pack and scored a header from the resulting cross to secure the win for Bradley and company. (more…)

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Africa

10 Kit Must Read: Africa’s Soccer Imposters

Brian Phillips pens a piece in Slate detailing the “bizarre, sad tale of Togo’s fake national team.” It’s an impressively researched look into what exactly happened last month when a contingent supposedly representing the African nation squad lost 3-0 to Bahrain. The story received some play in the United States and abroad before succumbing to the never-ending newscycle, but it continues to be a major issue in Togo.

Your money quote:

In Togo, however, this bizarre story has continued to dominate the public’s attention. Over the past few weeks, it has gone beyond a simple case of mistaken identity to include layers of conspiracy, fraud, corruption, political instability, and horrific violence. The fake team that played in Bahrain, then, can be seen as a stand-in for all the difficulties that face African soccer, where sports and political instability are often juxtaposed and where day-to-day reality can be starkly different from the cheerful picture painted during this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Football has a long way to come on the nation’s second-largest continent.

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Africa, United Kingdom, World Cup 2010

WED June 30: On the Final Eight, Nigeria, and EPL Rumblings

And then there were eight. With Spain’s victory over Portugal, the quarterfinals have been set in South Africa. 552 players and 24 managers have been eliminated, leaving three European, four South American, and one African country left to determine a World Cup Champion. Of the eight teams that remain, four – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Germany – have won the tournament before. A two day break gives each side a breather before matches resume on Friday, with Netherlands v Brazil (10 AM ET) and Uruguay v Ghana (2:30 PM ET). Saturday, Argentina v Germany (10 AM ET) will be followed by Spain v Paraguay (2:30 PM ET).

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Africa

African Cup of Nations Dates to Change

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, announced over the weekend that they will switch the scheduling of the African Nations Cup to odd years beginning after the next edition in 2012, after meeting in Cairo.

The next edition is scheduled for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea (1oKit is looking for any excuse to go there), before Libya hosts next (see the aside for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea). Libya agreed to move the scheduled 2014 cup to 2013 – “no worries” said Moummar Ghadaffi.

The re-programming will put Africa on schedule with CONCACAF, which currently plays two regional championships during each World Cup cycle, and get the continent off the schedule in World Cup years.

The African Nations Cup causes problems since it is played in January, to avoid the worst heat of the African summer, causing Africa’s Europe-based stars to miss club time and risk injury mid season.

What do you think of the decision? Is it about time Africa looked at its schedule? Could they consider playing over the summer instead of in January?

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Africa

Togo Wins Appeal, Will Compete for ANC

After an appeal to FIFA, Togo has been permitted to enter the preliminary competition for the African Nations Cup to be played in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in 2012. FIFA President Sepp Blatter mediated the talks, after which CAF agreed to let Togo in, and the Togolese Federation admitted it hadn’t followed the proper procedure to withdraw from the ANC in Angola after the team bus was attacked by rebels in Cabinda in January.

Here’s what Blatter had to say:

“I am very pleased that we have been able to find a solution which is satisfactory for both parties. Today marks a victory for the whole football family, particularly for African football. This shows that we can solve internal disputes within the football family for the benefit of all those who are involved in our game, and in particular for the players.”

The good news is, Emmanuel Adebaor’s international career is not over.  Thanks to Sepp Blatter, champion of African football. Seemed like a simple enough matter, once everyone sat down together. Of course, Equatorial Guinea is not the safest place.

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