Filed under: FIFA World Cup , International , Nigeria PRETORIA, South Africa — A few nights before this historic World Cup kicked off, the master of ceremonies at a gala in the Johannesburg suburb of Midrand honoring the legends of African soccer reminded attendees of how ignominious was Africa’s arrival in the World Cup in 1974. Mwepu Ilunga, a defender for Zaire, which that year became black Africa’s first World Cup entry, ran out of a defensive wall at the sound of the referee’s whistle and booted away the ball that had been placed for a Brazil free-kick. A video of the incident played on a video screen in the banquet hall and the MC announced Ilunga was in the room and would come to the stage and for the first time explain what all the years since stayed unexplained. “Ilunga?” the MC called several times. “Ilunga?” Ilunga was a no show, or early departee, which was the one thing the room full of African soccer stars from yesteryear, and those who came to see them that night, hoped would not be true of African teams with the first arrival of the World Cup on their continent. It will, unfortunately, be a struggle.
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Sadly, African Teams Still Far Short on Talent to Contend in World Cup
