African Fans Voice Support for Senegal, Morocco Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 in Qatar
Fan cheer before the World Cup group A soccer match between Ecuador and Senegal, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.
Muhammad OsmanAfrican national teams have presented themselves as strong opponents at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with two out of the five representatives of the continent, Morocco and Senegal, making their way to the knockout stage. In the meantime, the other three African nations, Ghana, Cameroon, and Tunisia, left the tournament with dignity.As the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is set to start on Saturday, football fans all across Africa are showing support for the two African national teams, Senegal and Morocco, who succeeded in qualifying for the last 16. This is the second time that two African teams have qualified for the World Cup round of 16 after the 2014 edition in Brazil.Senegal, who is taking part in the FIFA World Cup for the third time, became the first African nation to secure a place in the last 16 after gaining two deserved victories against Qatar, the host of the 2022 tournament, and Ecuador. The Lions of Teranga concluded the group stage in the second place of the first group with six points, following the Netherlands, who managed to beat Senegal and gather seven points.The African Cup of Nations 2022 champion’s next station will be the Al Bayt Stadium, where they are set to face the national team of England, the leader of the FIFA 2022 second group, on Sunday. Senegalese fans hope the Lions of Teranga can make it to the next round and reach the finals.“This is Africa playing against the World. This year, we won the African Cup, which means that we are more confident and furthermore we have ambitions. We hope to go beyond the quarterfinals, to play the third place even if it is not the final,” said a Senegalese football fan.The second African team to make it to the knockout stages was Morocco, who participated in the FIFA World Cup six times. The Atlas Lions topped the sixth group after gaining seven points without defeat, marking the second time for the North African country to proceed beyond the group stage in its history in the FIFA World Cup.Morocco, who also became the first African nation to top a World Cup group since Nigeria in 1998, is set to play against Spain on Tuesday, December 6.Earlier this week, Ghana’s national team manager Otto Addo expressed his support for Senegal and Morocco, describing their qualification as “an inspiration.”“I’m very, very happy for our African brothers to qualify. It’s surely an inspiration. I’m happy for Senegal first of all, it’s very, very important,” Addo said, adding that the FIFA World Cup must be more inclusive, with more berths for Africa, where 55 nations fight for only five slots in the tournament.Besides Morocco and Senegal, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar saw the participation of Ghana, Cameroon and Tunisia, who did not leave the tournament without a fight. Tunisia and Cameroon have been terminated from the group stage after getting 4 point each.Tunisia managed to beat France, champion of the latest FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, and secured a draw against Denmark, taking the third place in their group. A similar story happened with the Cameroonian team, who defeated Brazil, a five-time winner of the World Cup, and got a draw with Serbia.