Update

Côte d'Ivoire played impressively in their last group match against North Korea, but ultimately their 3-0 victory over North Korea proved insufficient as Portugal, in one of the dullest confrontations of the tournament so far, drew 0-0 with Brazil to take them one point clear of the West African hopefuls. The Elephants will be able to take away positives from their World Cup experience, with two strong performances, but you do have to wonder what they might have achieved in any of the other groups.

This means that Ghana are carrying the hopes of Africa with them in their quarter-final against Uruguay this Friday. The Black Stars have impressed this year, in spite of a group stage loss to Germany- victory over an impressive Serbian team and a passionate display in the last 16 against the USA have so far seen them equal the best World Cup performance by an African team, following Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) to be the third African team to reach the quarter-final stage of a World Cup.

They will have to be on top of their game to proceed beyond Uruguay. The South Americans are on form this tournament, and apart from a shaky start against a French team that had yet to collapse into anarchy they have won every game they have played. On the other hand, it could be argued that they have not really been tested yet- and the questions posed of their defence by the South Korean team on Saturday indicate that it is not impossible to score against them. If the Black Stars can replicate the form they showed in the first half against the USA, they will definitely be in with a chance!

Ghana

The Ghanaian team dominated their Group D match against Serbia on Sunday, as the Black Stars got off to the ideal World Cup start with a 1-0 victory against their head coach Milovan Rajevac’s hotly tipped compatriots. With a weak Australia still to play, they are moving tantalisingly close to the last 16, with the best result of any African team so far. The only blip on their horizon- and it’s a big blip, let’s be honest- is the ever-threatening German team that thrashed Australia 4-0 over the weekend in an aggressive, clinical display.

Australia qualified easily from their World Cup group this time around, but their form does not look like it has carried over into the finals tournament: Ghana will be looking forward to their match on Saturday (19^th June) and definitely hoping for a win.

The Serbian side that Ghana beat has also looked promising in the qualifiers, and was not entirely without teeth on Sunday either- they are still looking to qualify for the second round and will definitely consider it achievable in spite of the certainty of a tough game against Germany on Friday (18^th June). If they can score points this week, they should not be counted out!

The Germans are not the terrifying proposition that they once were, but they’re always going to threaten big things at a World Cup finals tournament. They’ve reached more semifinals than any other team in the world, and won the tournament more times than anybody apart from Brazil. Their team has recently undergone significant change, and the inexperience of some of the newer players may yet show this year: However, their demolition of Australia set down an imposing marker for the other teams in their group. Germany will expect to qualify for the last 16 at the top of their group, and will be disappointed with anything less than a semifinal place this year.

Ghana themselves have one of the most successful footballing histories of any African nation- the Black Stars have won the African Cup of Nations a full four times, were runners-up this year and are certainly on form coming into this World Cup. Their game against Serbia showed some very convincing attacking play and some solid defending- the only real worry on the footballing side was the lack of a clear finisher at the front: It eventually took a penalty earned for a handball in the Serbian box for striker Asamoah Gyan to put the ball in contact with the Serbian net. However, their disciplined play and attacking ethos mean that they’re well-placed to go through to the second round!

Ghana’s success on the football pitch mirrors its success at home- it is rated as one of the most stable and best- governed nations in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, and its abundant natural resources have helped to reduce the percentage of its population below fifty per cent and give it quite a good GDP by African standards. On the other hand almost thirty per cent still live in poverty, just under half of the population cannot read or write and the country is still dependant on foreign aid and the national debt. There is still, then, plenty of room for improvement in Ghana, not least in the education system- and plenty of space for Computers 4 Africa, with your support, to get involved!

Cameroon

Cameroon promised much before this World Cup kicked off, being one of the first African nations to qualify. With Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o and Arsenal midfielder Alex Song in the side, they looked set to produce some exciting attacking football, but unfortunately that failed to materialise in their opening 1-0 loss to Japan. Things changed against Denmark and the Indomitable Lions made a roaring start against the aging Scandinavian side, but unfortunately their weak defensive play and a certain nervousness in finishing proved to be their downfall. As a result, Cameroon have the unfortunate distinction of being the first African side to be eliminated from the World Cup after eventually losing 2-1.

The Japan game will be considered an opportunity missed by many followers of Cameroon’s disappointing campaign, as the Samurai Blue did not have a particularly stellar match- but some decidedly risky experimentation from coach Paul Le Guen, along with some understandable early World Cup nerves left the Lions seeming lost and uncertain. The Japanese were arguably still worse off, but they managed a goal against the run of play in the first half and Cameroon could not find a reply.

Against Denmark, Cameroon fared better: With Eto’o back in his customary central attacking position and Alex Song back on the pitch, the Indomitable Lions scored in the first half for an early lead: However, several missed chances and a couple of defensive blunders saw the Danes regain an even footing later in the first half, and a cooler nerve on the firing line saw them draw ahead in the second. The game itself was fantastic, exciting football, and Cameroon were continuing to create good chances well into the second half- but unfortunately they failed to capitalise again, and will now be unable to progress beyond the group stage.

If the Cameroonian team is to leave this tournament with any battle honours, its last chance is against the Netherlands on Thursday evening. The Netherlands have already qualified for the knockout stages however, winning both of their opening matches against Denmark and Japan 2-0 and 1-0 respectively: They are unlikely to be easy opponents, as if either Japan or Denmark win their game earlier in the day the Netherlands will be playing to head up the group, potentially giving them an easier first knockout round.

Cameroon itself has a stable Government and a strong economy. Its GDP, at $2300, is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is the dominant partner in the Bank of Central African States. Strong investment in the colonial era and a relatively stable Government since independence have ensured that Cameroon’s infrastructure is quite robust, and diverse natural resources and fertile ground have kept the economy strong.

Unfortunately however, Cameroon’s strong economy is at the expense of significant inequality and widespread corruption, particularly in government. Almost half the population still lives in poverty, and just under a third are still unable to read or write: The universities are over-subscribed and it is hard to find qualified teachers, particularly in the north of the country. Education is our primary focus at Computers 4 Africa, and we believe that this is exactly the sort of situation where our help is needed the most: Cameroon is a country with huge potential, where there is ample opportunity for individuals with the right skills to bring themselves and their families out of poverty because there is a shortage of skilled workers. The people are hungry for education and advancement, and with your help we can give them what they need!

Computers 4 Africa has partnered with an NGO call HINT check out our website to see how they are doing!

Algeria

Algeria’s football team, “Les Fennecs” (The Desert Foxes), was the first African side to beat a European national team at the World Cup when they defeated West Germany 2-1 in 1982. Since then they’ve had a turbulent path, qualifying for the finals this year in a huge playoff with reigning African Cup of Nations holders Egypt only to suffer a disappointing 1-0 defeat in their first game of the tournament against a poorly-regarded Slovenia team.

The remaining teams in Group C are England and the USA. Unfortunately for the Algerian side, both of these opponents will be fielding stronger teams than the Slovenia side that eventually made a shot count on Sunday, and while “Les Fennecs” did appear to be slightly better on the pitch against Slovenia until they had a man sent off, they are likely to struggle against the two group favourites.

On the other hand, the Algerians have shown a flair for taking on “tougher” opposition recently- notably they were semifinalists in the African Cup of Nations, and beat the eventual winners Egypt in order to secure their place at the World Cup finals.

Slovenia have been to the World Cup once before, in 2002, and in spite of avoiding defeat completely in their qualifying campaign they failed to score a point in the group stages of that tournament. This time around they finished second in their qualifying group to Slovakia, and won the drawn two-leg playoff against Russia by virtue of scoring one of their goals away from home. This year they have already bettered their previous record, recording a first World Cup victory as well as their first group-stage points. Given the strength of opposition in Group C, they will be delighted if they make it into the last 16.

The United States aren’t really known for their footballing prowess, but their national team has been steadily growing in strength since the 1980s, and they are currently a respectable 14^th in the FIFA world rankings after reaching the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup against Brazil. As such, they will definitely be looking to secure a place in the knockout stages this year, and are likely to put in a strong showing- if Algeria are to make it out of the group, they will need to play with purpose against this team.

And then there is of course England. England are almost certainly the toughest team in this group, with a FIFA ranking of 8^th in the World and a very strong qualifying campaign behind them in which they won nine of their ten games. They do have a reputation for dropping their game against “weaker” opposition, however, and also for making silly mistakes in big games. Algeria will certainly be hoping that the English team lives down to this reputation when they play them on the 18^th!

Algeria itself is currently in a period of almost unprecedented stability in its post-colonial era, and with that has come a lot of growth- including a dramatic increase in literacy rates and quality of education, resulting in an almost 70% literacy rate and a reduction in the number of Algerian citizens living in poverty to an estimated 23 per cent- lower than South Africa’s 50 per cent- in spite of the average GDP per person being only £7,100 (in SA the figure is £10,000).

Algeria has undergone a struggle for independence from the French as well as a series of long civil wars, and is still feeling the after-effects- but it is coming out the other end still fighting, with its education system and job market continually improving. If this continues, then who knows? Perhaps the Algerian team will start to become a force to reckon with in future tournaments!