Not a lot of hope for African teams at World Cup

With five of the six African World Cup finalists participating at the Africa Cup of Nations, it could easily have been expected that one of them would walk away with the trophy.

They did not. Instead it was an impressive Egyptian side that won an unprecedented seventh title, making history in the process by becoming the first team to win the tournament three times in a row.

Ghana's second place finish is probably more than could have been expected from a side missing several injured regulars who failed to make the trip.

Coach Milovan Rajevac then also had to make do without the services of inspirational captain Michael Essien, who could not feature beyond the second half of the Black Stars' first game against Ivory Coast after picking up an injury in training.

The absence of so many regulars prompted the Serbian coach to include eight of the 21-man Ghana squad that in October won the World Youth Cup in Egypt.

By going all the way to the final, they certainly did not disappoint him and although it is unlikely that all eight will make the trip to South Africa later this year, some of them will.

Experienced defender Hans Sarpei said: "They took us to the final, but I think that at the World Cup there will be a few more experienced players."

Algeria's Desert Foxes blew hot and cold, looking pedestrian in their opening 3-0 defeat against Malawi but very impressive during the 3-2 victory against the Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.

Against their North African rivals Egypt in the semi-finals, the Algerians pushed the self-destruct button. Three red cards and a 4-0 drubbing followed.

They then went on to lose the third place play-off against Nigeria's Super Eagles 1-0.

"We must learn from our mistakes and try to eradicate them," defender Anthar Yahia said "We must have a plan how we can go into the next round at the World Cup and if we have that, we can qualify for the knock-out stages."

The Ivory Coast, who are widely considered as the strongest African team at the moment, played their best football in their second game against Ghana, during which they completely outplayed their opponents - winning 3-1.

The draw against Burkina Faso and the defeat against Algeria did anything but to suggest that they can escape a very tough World Cup draw that sees them having to take on Brazil and Portugal.

Cameroon's Indomitable Lions lost twice - 1-0 to Gabon in the group stage and 3-1 to Egypt in the quarter-finals - and managed just one victory, beating Zambia 3-2.

They scrapped through to the quarter-finals by a single goal which they had scored more than Gabon.

Nothing showed the end of an era for the Indomitable Lions, who in 1990 became the first African country to qualify for the quarter- finals of the World Cup, more than Paul Le Guen dropping former captain Rigobert Song.

Since first playing at the Nations Cup for Cameroon in 1996, the defender has started every single game the team has played since then at the showpiece of African football.

The first time since 1996 he did not start was against Tunisia in the group stage and against Egypt in the quarter-finals he stayed on the bench for the entire 120 minutes.

Le Guen's contract runs until after the World Cup finals, but the Frenchman is aware that job guarantees and football coaching are mutually exclusive.

"I will be preparing for the World Cup, but one never knows what happens in football," he said after his side had been knocked out.

One coach who almost certainly will miss out on a trip to South Africa is Nigeria's Shaibu Amodu, who already arrived in Angola with a sword hanging over his head.

The only way he had any chance of holding on to his job was taking the Super Eagles to the final and his failure to do so will - in all likelihood - see him replaced by a foreign coach, even if he did take the side to a credible third place finish.

Everton's Nigerian striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni still believes that his side can do well at the World Cup.

"Even if people are saying Argentina is the favourite in our group, we will be playing for first place," he said.

"I am sure that one of the African countries at the World Cup will spring a surprise and do really well. I am hoping it will be Nigeria, but I am sure there will be one African team that impresses."