World Cup: Denmark vs. Cameroon; Danes win, 2-1, as Africa’s drought continues
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This was to be Africa’s World Cup. No less an authority than Nelson Mandela said so.
“This event,” said Mandla Mandela, speaking for his 91-year-old grandfather “should enable Africans to realize that we are able to [host] a world-class event.”
Notice he didn’t say anything about Africa being able to play in a world-class event. Which is good because nine days into the first World Cup on African soil the Lost Continent has become the Loss Continent.
A record six African teams were invited to this year’s tournament, and through 11 games they’ve combined for just one win – and that victory, by Ghana, came on a penalty kick following a questionable hand-ball call.
The latest loss came Saturday night when winless Cameroon, expected to breeze through group play, fell to Denmark, 2-1, on goals by Nicklas Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl before a crowd of 38,074 in a Group E match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the South African capital.
But at least it scored its first goal of the tournament. Algeria and Ivory Coast have yet to do that.
To be fair, injuries have played a big part in Africa’s struggles. Ghana, whose only two scores have come on penalty kicks, is without star midfielder Michael Essien and it missed defender Isaac Vorsah in Saturday’s tie with lowly Australia.
Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel won’t play at all in South Africa, while a broken arm has limited Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba to just 24 minutes in the tournament.
But that alone can’t explain six losses and four ties in 11 games in which Africa has been outscored 12-5.
Nor does it explain the last World Cup, when African nations won just three of 16 matches. Or 2002, when they won four of 17.
Cameroon tried to change that against Denmark, taking a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute when Achille Emana picked off a lazy pass by Christian Poulsen deep in the Danish end, then fed Samuel Eto’o in the 18-yard box for an easy goal.
The goal was the second in a World Cup for Eto’o and his first in the tournament in eight years. But it didn’t stand alone for long, with Bendtner matching it for Denmark in the 33nd minute.
The play started with Simon Kjaer’s long ball from well inside the Danish end finding Rommedahl on the right wing deep in Cameroon territory. Rommedahl settled the ball, then punched it across the goal and past a diving keeper to Bendtner, racing toward the post a step ahead of the defense on the left side for the easy tap-in.
The teams then exchanged scoring opportunities in a frantic minute just before the half. That sequence started with another long ball by the Danes but a last-ditch block by Cameroon defender Sebastien Bassong denied Denmark’s John Dahl Tomasson. Cameroon quickly rushed back the other way, only to see an Eto’o shot at a wide-open net hit the post before Emana fired another shot right at Danish keeper Thomas Sorensen.
Then to start the second half, Cameroon’s Stephane Mbia directed a header just inches over the crossbar. Later in the half, after Pierre Webo hit Sorenson in the stomach with a shot in the 60th minute, the Danes launched an immediate counterattack that ended with Rommendahl’s tie-breaking score.
Rommendahl took the ball down the right wing, cut inside of defender Jean Makoun, then got off a curling shot that eluded Cameroon keeper Hamidou Souleymanou to the far post.
The Indomitable Lions’ weren’t done though. Only a spectacular save by Sorensen on Emana in the 77th minute and another on Vincent Aboubakar 10 minutes later allowed Denmark to escape with the win.
For Cameroon, meanwhile, the loss was its third straight in World Cup play, dating to 2002.
Africa’s next chance for a win comes Sunday night when winless and goalless Ivory Coast meets Brazil, the tournament favorite. Expect the hopes of a continent to be riding with them.
In last week’s opening ceremonies, South African President Jacob Zuma echoed the hopes for this tournament by former President Mandela.
“FIFA decided that Africa’s time had come,” he said. “And that a nation which was only just emerging from centuries of pain and conflict needed the chance to prove its capabilities.”
FIFA is still waiting on that second part.
-- Kevin Baxter reporting from Pretoria, South Africa