African Squads in Midweek Friendlies

Much of the world played World Cup qualifying last night.

Others played friendlies in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

Africa was no exception as the continent prepares itself for the much-anticipated 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

First up, African champions Egypt were beaten 2-0 by the world's top ranked side, Argentina.

A full strength Egypt side, including controversial keeper Essam El Hadary, conceded two goals in the last 20 minutes to go down to the South American giants.

But in Pretoria, the upcoming World Cup hosts, South Africa, secured a deserved 3-0 victory over their own South American opposition, Paraguay.

In the process, striker Benni McCarthy became his country's top international goalscorer.

In other matches, Ghana lost to Mexico 2-1.

Ghana took the lead in this game, held at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground in London, but they were not able to hold on to it.

After a goalless first half, Michael Essien gave the Black Stars the lead with a driving shot from outside the area, which went in off the post.

But Mexico equalised in simple fashion, when Ghana's substitute goalkeeper, Patrick Antwi, slipped as he prepared to deal with a back pass.

Carlos Salcido punished his mistake.

Four minutes from time, Ghana captain John Mensah hauled down Adolfo Bautista in the box and Mexico's Pavel Pardo stepped up to convert the penalty and give his side the win.

Also, Morocco bounced back from their dreadful Cup of Nations campaign with a 4-1 win over Belgium.

It was a first win for stand-in coach Fathi Jamal, who took over after the departure of Henri Michel.

"After our dramatic exit in the Africa Cup, this really feels great. It has been a long time since we played like this," Morocco playmaker Mbark Boussoufa said.

Tunisia met Ivory Coast in France, and came away with a 2-0 win.

Goals from Tijani Belaid and Radhouane Felhi gave Roger Lemerre's side victory, although the coach is soon to leave his post.

Liberia scored a surprise 2-0 win over Sudan in Khartoum, in their first game under new coach Antoine Hey.

The first result of the day was a 1-1 draw between Uganda and Libya in Kampala.

Caesar Okhuti put the Cranes ahead in the 48th minute, with the equalizer coming in the 90th minute from Younes Shidani.

DR Congo and Algeria were in France for another match taking place near Paris.

Dieumerci Mbokani put the Simbas ahead in the 35th minute, but a late penalty converted by Kamel Ghiles meant the game ended 1-1.

Tanzania's game against Mozambique was canceled due to heavy rains at the old national stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Mozambique turned down a proposal to have the match played on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Zimbabwe beat Botswana 1-0 in Gaborone, with the goal scored by Cuthbert Malajila.

Who Won't Be at the Cup of Nations?

We all know the big-name superstars that will grace the stage at Ghana 2008, familiar names like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Samuel Eto'o.

But who are the well-known athletes that won't be in Ghana starting this Sunday?

The BBC ran this interesting article today pinpointing some of the superstars who won't be gracing Africa's biggest stage.

For example, there are the players born in Africa who opted to play elsewhere, like Patrick Vieira (pictured), who hails from Senegal but plays for the French national team. Same goes for French teammate Claude Makelele, who was born in DR Congo but left for Europe at a young age.

Ivory Coast was badly hit as well, losing out on Arsenal and Switzerland defender Johan Djourou, and from French striker Djibril Cissé, whose father was an Ivorian international.

It's not only West African nations that have lost out. Algeria lost out on Zinedine Zidane, who is of Algerian origin. Good for France, not so good for Algeria!

Then there's the strange case of one of football's greatest players: Eusebio.

The legendary Eusebio played all his early football in his native Mozambique before moving to Portugal and eventually becoming one of the top goal-scorers at the 1966 World Cup.

Eusebio's case was a little different though: at the time Mozambique did not exist as a country!

Interesting article. Please take a look at the link above.

Many Winners in WC 2010

One of the many positives of staging the 2010 World Cup in Africa is the potential economic windfall South Africa's neighboring countries could stimulate.

One such neighbor is being very aggressive in trying to get that money into their country: Mozambique. (Above:Wimbe Beach, Pemba, Mozambique)

You can't really blame them. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. If they can garner come much-needed cash from residual tourists in South Africa during the Cup finals, why not go for it? They may be poor, but one thing they do have is pristine sandy beaches (as you can see above) and quaint colonial cities. The former Portuguese colony also has a low crime rate unlike South Africa, which is grappling with one of the world's highest levels of violent crime.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Rosario Mualeia told Reuters that the impoverished southern African nation hoped to lure at least 150,000 tourists to its shores, or about one third of those expected to visit host nation South Africa during the World Cup.

Mozambique is also negotiating to host training and base camps for some of the teams that will qualify for the finals.

"We are near to South Africa and the crime rate in Mozambique is not as high as the host nation," Mualeia said in an interview in the northern Mozambican city Pemba.
"Many fans would be prefer to be in a quiet place and Mozambique has the environment for that."

The Mozambican government plans to spend at least $600 million on hotels, casinos and other leisure facilities as part of an effort to capitalize on the tourism boom expected during the one-month World Cup, which begins on June 11, 2010.

Mozambique is experiencing an economic boom. Tourism revenues have provided crucial foreign exchange for the government's public works programs.
The bulk of Mozambique's infrastructure, particularly its roads and ports, were destroyed during a 17-year civil war that ended in 1992.

"We expect to earn more than $150 million from tourism this year and to double that in four years as more Europeans discover sand and sun in Mozambique," Mualeia said.

Tourism generated $144 million for the former Portuguese colony in 2006.
The bulk of the country's visitors come from South Africa, Italy, Germany and a handful of other nations.

I think Mozambique is going about this the right way. Why not try and get some of the treasure the World Cup promises? Why not try to bolster their image through the spectacle of the Games? Remember, these are Africa's games, not just South Africa's.

I think I'll have to pencil in Mozambique in my travel itinerary. A nice day on the beach after watching some world-class football sounds about right to me ...