Cameroon legend and former Indomitable Lions forward, Roger Milla, believes that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is a great opportunity for African football to shine on the biggest stage.
No African country has won the FIFA World Cup as the trophy has been exclusive to South America and Europe since 1930. An African team is yet to play in the semi-final of the world’s biggest football tournament.
In an interview with the BBC, 70 years old Milla who holds the record as the oldest player, at 42, to score at FIFA World Cup, reiterates that Africa has many of the best footballers in the world.
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“Now is a good time to show that Africa has the best football players and the best teams in the world,” said Milla, who as a 42-year-old scored the Indomitable Lions’ consolation goal in a 6-1 loss to Russia in the Group B of USA ’94 World Cup.
“We have to make our players understand that we can compete with the biggest teams. We have everything to compete with them.
“It’s up to us to get to work. We struggled for a few years but I’ve seen African football develop a lot. Now it’s time and we will see in Qatar.”
Milla represented the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon at three FIFA World Cups; Spain 1982, Italia ’90 and USA ’94.
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He came out of retirement in 1990, aged 38, to help Cameroon become the first African country to reach the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup, scoring four goals. They lost the semi-final ticket to England who won the quarter-final clash 3-2 in extra time.
Senegal and Ghana would later also achieve that quarter-finals feat at the World Cup at Korea/Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010 editions respectively.
Africa’s five representatives at the Qatar 2022 World Cup are Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia.
By Toju Sote
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