Benin delivered a daunting task

The draw for the final stage of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup took place today in Zurich and the Squirrels of Benin were drawn with the Black Stars of Ghana, the Eagles of Mali and and the Desert Hawks of Sudan. If Benin is to shock the world and make the journey to South Africa they will have to overcome an arduous task.

Contrary to some media outlets this will not be a cakewalk group for the Ghanaians. What most media outlets don’t understand is that this Ghana side is not in the same rich vein of form as the 2006 side that dazzled in Germany. That Ghana side has not been seen since they left Germany. The current Ghana side struggles away from home and have still not adequately solved their scoring issues. Plus with an injured Michael Essien and a club-less Stephen Appiah, Ghana is very vulnerable. If were dealing with the 2006 Black Stars then I would concur that this group would be decided by Ghana but we are not. While they should still be inserted as the favorites they are hardly locks. It must be remembered that before 2006 Ghana had consistently disappointed in World Cup qualifying. Ghana are in the worst form of the five teams from the top seed line so in that respect Benin lucked out, but Ghana are still one of the continents best.

Mali is a side that on paper is very dangerous but has failed to date to transfer that same potency to the pitch. They are one of those national teams that everyone thinks are better then they really are or that they should be better than they are. Still even if Mali never finds the form it is thought they have they are not slouches. In fact they defeated Benin in the Nations Cup earlier this year though it was far from a convincing win. And Benin has improved since then while it is unclear if the Malians have. The most important thing about having drawn Mali is that they are not Tunisia. Unfortunately they are not Algeria either. Benin will likely need 4 out 6 points in the matches against Mali to have any chance of reaching South Africa.

The final team in the group is Sudan. The Sudanese recently partook in the Nations Cup for the first time in some 30 odd years. While they weren’t up to par once they took that stage the fact that they managed to qualify first in their group, a group also containing Tunisia, was impressive enough. They have proven that that form is no fluke by once again putting themselves into position to not only qualify for the Nations Cup in Angola but maybe the biggest stage of them all. While Benin should probably take heart that they did not draw Togo, Sudan is likely to prove themselves no slouches this time around. Just ask Mali who were felled in Sudan in the last stage.

While it is not an impossible group it is by no means an easy group either. If Benin is to advance to the World Cup they will have to find yet another gear. Slip ups at this stage are almost always fatal. With just six fixtures and one team advancing there is very little room for error. Four years ago there were six teams in each group allowing for a slow start. This time around whoever gets out of the blocks quickest could see that momentum take them all the way to South Africa. With such a slim margin of error Benin must make sure that they are at the top of their game from the get go.

I will post again later in the week with the schedule list and a look at how the schedule could either benefit or harm Benin’s chances.