2022 World Cup: what preparations for African teams?
Kalidou Koulibaly and Sadio Mané in full discussion during a preparation match for Senegal against Bolivia, September 24, 2022 in Orléans.
© FMM/Pierre René-Worms
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
4 mins
Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia will play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scheduled from November 20 to December 18.
Here is the preparation program for the five selections that will represent Africa in Qatar.
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Cameroon: two friendly matches
The Indomitable Lions A', accompanied by a few senior players from the pennant selection, are hosting Jamaica on November 9 in Yaoundé.
An opponent who must above all allow Rigobert Song to gauge the level of the best local players and thus refine the list of 26 elements that he will take to Qatar.
The coaches have until November 13 to send their choice to the International Football Federation (Fifa).
The Cameroonian coach recently set out his main selection criteria on the Fifa website: “
Performance!
The influence they [the players, editor's note] have in their respective clubs.
We must present a competitive group, up to our expectations and we have no more time, the World Cup will come very quickly.
»
On November 18, the Cameroon A team will play a final game against Panama, again a different profile from its three future opponents at the World Cup, Switzerland (November 24), Serbia (November 28) and Brazil (December 2). ).
Ghana: reduce a list of 55 players
Otto Addo, the coach of Ghana, has communicated a list of 55 pre-selected players, the maximum authorized by Fifa.
The technician will therefore have to cut his workforce in half for a World Cup during which the Black Stars will successively face Portugal (November 24), South Korea (November 28) and Uruguay (December 2).
It was during an internship in Abu Dhabi from November 10 to 18 that the technician will make his final decisions.
The Ghanaians will also perform a final rehearsal against Switzerland on November 17.
"
We will do our best to ensure that the players are put in the best possible position to move forward and hold the flag of Ghana high
," the country's president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, assured during the meeting. a ceremony in the presence of Ghanaian football leaders.
Morocco: a test and alterations
It is also in the United Arab Emirates that the Atlas Lions will partly prepare for this World Cup.
They have a preparation match scheduled for November 17 against Georgia.
An opponent far from the level of that of Croatia (November 23), Belgium (November 27) and Canada (December 1), future opponents of the Maghreb in group F of the tournament.
But, in September, the Moroccans were able to test themselves against Chile (2-0) and Paraguay (0-0).
What to see a little more clearly for Walid Regragui, bombarded coach on August 31 only.
In the program Talents d'Afrique, the ex-coach of Wydad Casablanca warned that he is not going to revolutionize everything a few days before the final phase: "
Slowly, you have to bring your personal touch, with a group that should not change too much.
A national team is not just the pitch.
It is also group life.
What the players were able to create between them during the two years of qualifying, […] you cannot come and change everything before such an important deadline.
»
Senegal: a headache for Aliou Cissé
For the time being, the Senegalese Federation has not announced any preparatory match for the World Cup.
Coach Aliou Cissé, in office since 2015, knows, it is true, his protégés much better than his four other African colleagues.
To face the Netherlands (November 21), Qatar (November 25) and Ecuador (November 29), Aliou Cissé must already form a group of 26 players.
And it does not look easy for the coach.
“
At the start of the course, we will try to have a homogeneous group
, he explained on the FIFA website.
A balanced group, which lives well.
It is also important to defend Senegal in the best way at the World Cup.
I feel like saying these are choices of the rich.
We try to sit down with all the staff so that we can decide which group will go to the World Cup.
But, in reality, all the players I've used deserve to be there.
I will make people happy and unhappy, but it is a choice
”.
Cissé's list should be unveiled on November 11, according to the Senegalese press.
Tunisia: an internship in Saudi Arabia
The Tunisians should have only one preparatory meeting: November 16 in Qatar against Iran.
A first part of the preselected players has started an internship in Saudi Arabia, which takes place from November 6 to 13 in Dammam, a seaside resort located 220 km from Doha.
The rest of the workforce will join the Carthage Eagles directly in Qatar, after the announcement of the list of selected players on November 14, the date on which the clubs must let the players join their selections.
As a reminder, Tunisia will successively face Denmark (November 22), Australia (November 26) and France (November 30).
To (re) read ► 2022 World Cup: match schedule and results
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