Is Qatar the World Cup that African coaches come of age?

The time has perhaps come that African football starts believing in its coaches, given what is transpiring at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

After all, has it not been brilliant to watch the African teams playing with the kind of reckless attacking abandon that we are so accustomed to?

Yes, their exciting and free-flowing play has often led to them being susceptible to counter-attacks or punishment by the more organised teams.

But wouldn’t you rather that than the boring, composed and calculated play that has often characterised our teams when they are coached by Europeans, who often stifle our players’ talent and skills?

Senegal’s progression to the knockout stages as the second best team in Group A after bouncing back from their opening match defeat must be seen as a sign that African coaches have come of age.

Alilou Cisse, their long-serving coach who has delivered them the Africa Cup of Nations title, has flown the flag for local-born coaches by leading the Teranga Lions to victories over Qatar and Ecuador.

In a historic year when all African representatives are under the tutelage of their own local coaches for the first time at the global spectacle, it was remarkable that all five countries were still in contention for a spot in the knockout phase going into the final group match.

Morocco, who did the unthinkable by firing a European coach —  the unlucky Vahid Halilhodžić, who was suffering the same fate for the third time — and replacing him with a local Walid Regragui before the tournament, have seen their decision justified so far.

The Atlas Lions impressed by holding Croatia their opening match before that shock victory over the world’s No 2 ranked team Belgium, to put themselves in a good position for a round of 16 qualification.

They play Canada in their last group match.

Ghana also have control of their fate, thanks to their impressive showing in their second match after a stuttering start that had many wondering if the decision to go with Otto Addo was justified.

For many years, African countries have relied on European coaches to lead their fortunes at the World Cup, with some countries even firing the locals who had earned them qualification.

They were not wrong, given that few African coaches had the requisite experience to take charge of their national teams at such a high level.

And with some of the European coaches doing well for the countries, there was no reason for national teams to go local.

After all, it must be pointed out that the best three African performances at the World Cup — Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana reaching the quarterfinals — were achieved using European coaches.

It is the benchmark for the five coaches leading African teams in Qatar — surpass it and we can safely proclaim that the continent has raised world-class coaches.

A tall ask, but you can bet that Cisse will not be quaking in his boots as he leads Senegal against England in the next match as he seeks to become the first African to reach the quarterfinal on two occasions, having done so as a player 20 years ago in Korea/Japan.

But what is it that these African coaches have brought to the table that has been lacking in previous tournaments?

One thing that has been clear is that the African players are playing with freedom. Granted, under European coaches the teams appeared to have structure and kept their shape — but too often, the players have complained of being stifled, told to ditch their “showboating” by European coaches who don’t seem to understand that for African players football is more fun when they add trickery to it.

Not so this time around, as all the five coaches have a clear understanding of the players’ culture — not only on the field but off it too.

The coaches were former players of those countries themselves. They know the pressures of donning the shirt and are able to advise and handle the players accordingly.

The local coaches’ route for African teams will only be deemed a success should any of the teams reach the quarterfinals at least.

Given how impressive Ghana were in their ability to run Portugal close and then get the better of a South Korean team that reeled them back in after they’d taken the lead, there can be no denying that the likes of Otto Addo deserve their place at football’s top table, the result of their final group clash against Uruguay notwithstanding.

Granted, there will be those who feel that under the tutelage of local coaches, African teams’ style of play often resembles a scene from the wild west — but who cares if it produces results, right?