Beards for Africa, An Update

Well, every team in the 2010 World Cup has now played their first game and a few have already played their second so I figured it was time for a couple updates for you guys. First I want to give you a quick update on each of the African teams in the World Cup which I am so closely following, and then I figured a beard update was in order. Since I know some of you just want to see how poorly my beard is coming along, go ahead and scroll to the bottom, take a peak at the picture but then come right back up here to read about the African teams...I'll wait for you.


Alright, did you get your laughs in? Now back to business. Here's a quick blurb on each of the African teams in reverse order, starting with the team that played their first game most recently and so on.

Ivory Coast
The Elephants were possibly the best-looking African side in the first round of games. They played a great game against Portugal and deserved to win but came out with a 0-0 draw. They had the bulk of the chances and looked dangerous in creating opportunities on goal but just couldn't put any of them away. I was happy with the way they played though and have given me confidence that they can advance out of the group stage. Their key game will be when they play Korea DPR. They need to win that game to have any chance of advancing in the tournament.

Cameroon
The Indomitable Lions (one of the best nicknames in the Tournament) ran into a tough and well-prepared Japanese team in their first game and fell 1-0. That being said, Cameroon played quite well and aside from the one short defensive lapse that led to Japan's goal, probably was the better team overall. They are in a tough group though and with games upcoming against Denmark and The Netherlands, it seems to be a long shot for advancement.

Ghana
This is the team I have the biggest connection to. I lived right next to the small country of Ghana for 6.5 years, and lived in it for 6 months. So, naturally I was pretty excited for their opening game against Serbia. I got even more riled up when the pre-game commentators were writing off the Black Stars before the game even started saying that they wouldn't be able to overcome Serbia. You can imagine how proud and happy I was when Ghana pretty much was in control the whole game and scored the winning goal with just a few minutes left to seal a 1-0 victory. With their next game against Australia, who looked pretty bad against Germany, Ghana can all but guarantee their spot in the next round with a victory. The Black Stars are quite possibly Africa's best chance for an African team to go far in the first ever World Cup in Africa.

Algeria
The Desert Foxes have a really cool nickname but are easily the African team I have the least interest in. They lost their first game to Slovenia 1-0 on a really week goal let in by their keeper (not quite as weak as Robert Green's gaff against the U.S. but close) and now are up against it with their two remaining games being against England and the U.S. They may come away with zero points to their name when all is said and done.

Nigeria
Tonight the Super Eagles took one on the chin. In their second game which was against Greece, they scored the opening goal and looked on their way to a crucial victory when soon after one of their players received a red card and was sent off. Being a man short for the rest of the game was too much to handle and they eventually fell 2-1, despite putting up a good fight. Now with 2 losses to open the tournament, they are all but out. They need to win the last game and got a lot of help in order to pull off the miracle.

South Africa
The host team, Bafana Bafana, definitely have their work cut out for them. After an impressive draw with Mexico in their first game, they suffered a defeat in their second game against Uruguay and now need everything to fall just right in order to advance to the next round. Basically they need to beat France and hope that Uruguay lose to Mexico so they have a chance to get through based on goal difference. 




And how about that beard? Well, not sure if that's what you call it but hey, it is what it is, right? It's now the end of Day 7 of the South African World Cup and my beard in support of African football is making progress. I'm almost to the point where it stops becoming annoying and itchy and is just comfortable...at least that's what I keep telling myself.

DAY 7