Eto’o: African teams struggle due to poor preparations
Former Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o poses during a photo session on October 24, 2019 in Paris.
What you need to know:
- The 40,000-seater stadium is scheduled to host the Amir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Arabi.
Kenya is among African nations seeking to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
Harambee Stars have been pooled against Mali, Uganda, and Rwanda in the preliminaries with the qualification matches set to commence in March next year.
Cameroonian legend Samuel Eto’o has urged African governments and football administrators to adequately prepare their national teams for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
The former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea striker spoke to journalists in Doha yesterday when he toured the country at the invitation of the 2022 Fifa World Cup Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy as part of preparations to officially open the Al Rayyan Stadium which will host select matches of the football bonanza.
The 40,000-seater stadium is scheduled to host the Amir Cup final between Al Sadd and Al Arabi.
“African players impress when playing in Europe because they are motivated,” explained Eto’o, who featured at three World Cups for the Indomitable Lions before announcing his international retirement in 2014.
“But it is a different story when they play for their national teams because most teams do not prepare well. You know the challenges these teams face. I can tell you every player wants to play for his national team and some of them sacrifice a lot. But how are the preparations like? That is what we need to work on if we are to progress to the later stages of the World Cup.”
African countries have struggled to impress at this tournament with Cameroon (in 1990), Senegal (2002), and Ghana (2010) the only teams from the continent to have made it to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Kenya is among African nations seeking to qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
Harambee Stars have been pooled against Mali, Uganda, and Rwanda in the preliminaries with the qualification matches set to commence in March next year.
Eto’o also gave the thumbs up to Qatar’s preparations for the tournament. At least 1million visitors are expected to tour Qatar during the 34-nation global football showpiece.
Qatar recently announced it is 90 percent ready for the prestigious tournament. The Supreme Committee noted that four of the eight stadiums that will host the games; Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Education City, and Al Rayyan are ready.
The rest Al Bayt; Al Thumana, Lusail, and Ras Abu are on course and will be completed by mid-next year.
