Why African nations may struggle in FIFA World Cup last 16 |

SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt reckons that African nations may find it harder to progress to the World Cup quarterfinals. 

Only Morocco and Senegal are the remaining African representatives going into the knockout stages in Qatar. 

The Atlas Lions will take on 2010 World Cup Champions Spain on Tuesday. The Lions of Teranga, on the other hand, will face England on Sunday. 

END OF FIFA WORLD CUP JOURNEY? 

“On paper, they don’t really have a chance, but in terms of football, Senegalese are big as well. Big Athletics, always difficult to play, and they will certainly give England a game,” Hunt told FARPost. 

“Morocco against Spain, both nations are close in terms of the proximity where they live. So, yeah, mentalities are good. It is difficult to say, but I think the bigger nations should come through.

“Spain and England should go through, but I certainly don’t think it will be easy. I think England will have the hardest game against Senegal, Morocco has had a good tournament, but I don’t think they will do it again,” he said. 

HUNT’S IMPRESSION SO FAR 

“I feel some teams have been a little bit loose on their structure. The structure is going to be better. But I think you will see the tournament now. It’s not going to be free-flowing. It will be a bit more consecutive because it’s a knockout stage.

“But there are some countries that are overachievers and some that are underachievers. But there are more underachievers this year from a big nation perspective, so I think it’s always better when you get to the last 16. It’s like the Champions League. It’s always good.” 

Full list of the 2022 World Cup’s last 16 round of fixtures:

Netherlands v USA

Argentina v Australia

England v Senegal

Japan v Croatia

Morocco v Spain

Portugal v Switzerland

France v Poland

Brazil v South Korea 

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