Why Africa’s teams, Ghana aside, haven’t performed

…finding a common reason that explains Africa’s disappointment is pointless. This was not a continental failure, rather a combination of mistakes on and off the field, difficult draws and a dose or two of bad luck, all wrapped up in a layer of unrealistic expectation.

There was a hope that since this was the first World Cup in Africa then African teams would do well. But that’s all it was: hope. In reality, none of the six teams had suggested that they were capable of surpassing Cameroon and Senegal’s achievement of reaching the quarterfinals.

From my first piece for the New York Times’ ‘Goal’ blog. The rest is here