Senegal offer brief hope but bleak prospects lie ahead for Africa

The Lions of Taranga defied the odds as they became the first African team to win at the 2018 FIFA World Cup 

Egypt were defeated 3-1 by hosts Russia in the second round of matches in group A. This makes the Egyptians elimination from Russia a little more than a formality with Uruguay set to take on Saudi Arabia where the South Americans will be coming in as heavy favourites to secure the second spot to the next round.

Egypt's defeat continued the bitterly disappointing performances of African teams as we've seen Nigeria, Morrocco, Tunisia lose thier opening fixtures meaning that African teams sit on the brink of elimination with the one exception being Senegal who stunned Poland in their group H opener.

Senegal profited from Poland's indiscretions with a 2-1 win and sit in a more favourable position in a group which also features Japan and Colombia. Senegal were by far the best performing side of the bunch as they were solid on defence, maintained their shape and looked composed throughout which was in stark contrast to their fellow Africans.

Two goals spread across the four other teams over five matches reflects a sorry state for African football, and it says much about the continent's so-called best teams as those two goals didn't come from open play.

Both Egypt and Tunisia's goals came from the penalty spot and the latter are also likely to accompany their North African compatriots back home as they face an uphill battle with a match against group leaders Belgium on the horizon, and prospects don't look any better for CAF's other representatives.

Morocco failed to leverage any sort of advantage from their opener against Iran which was a must win if they harboured any hopes of progressing to the last 16. The Atlas Lions dominated possession but still found themselves on the wrong side of a 1-0 defeat and now face the unenviable task of having to get something from their two matches against Spain and Portugal.

Nigeria should be wary of the opportunity at their disposal when they take on Iceland on Friday. A win will mean their final group game against Argentina will be for all the marbles in a group which could prove to be exciting as any of the four sides can still go through.

All in all, tidings for the African teams haven't been good as the end of current round of fixtures could see four of the continent's teams become the first casualties as the tournament kicks into the knockout phase.

So all eyes will be on Senegal to make the continent proud once again which leaves us with the oh so familiar situation of having to watch and wait awhile longer for that African team that fulfil the continent's burgeoning potential.