Should Senegal be concerned about Africa's champions' World Cup curse?
Senegal, the holders of the Africa Cup of Nations, haven't always had it easy in World Cup qualification. Although it seems obvious that Africa's champions — representing FIFA's second-largest confederation, CAF — should represent the continent at the World Cup, it hasn't always been so.
A look at AFCON winners of the past shows how some of them struggled to replicate their performances from the continental championships in World Cup qualifiers.
Here's a look at how certain AFCON winners from the past ended up failing to represent Africa in the World Cups of that time.
Egypt in 1998
Egypt defeated defending champions South Africa 2-0 in Burkina Faso to win the last Africa Cup of Nations of the twentieth century.
Yet, Africa's representatives at the 1998 World Cup in France ended up being South Africa. The Pharaohs were beaten by Tunisia in qualifying and thus, failed to make the cut.
It was one of the many missed opportunities for Egypt between their 1990 World Cup appearance and their return to the competition in 2018. It wasn't the most heartbreaking though.
Egypt in 2010
The 2010 World Cup was a historic occasion for Africa, as it was the first time that football's premier event was taking place in that continent.
However, Africa's champions at the time, Egypt, were absent. They had been eliminated by bitter rivals Algeria in one of the most dramatic qualification series in history.
Egypt squandered a fantastic opportunity to reach the biggest stage in international football in the midst of their golden era. The Pharaohs had won three consecutive AFCON titles in this period. Unfortunately, we'll never know what this magnificent team could have accomplished had they qualified.
Zambia in 2014
Zambia weren't African champions when the 2014 World Cup came around as Nigeria had won the 2013 AFCON, just a year after the tournament's previous edition. This was due to a scheduling adjustment by CAF. Still, Zambia can be held guilty of being unable to build on their memorable 2012 AFCON triumph.
Zambia had dropped points in their qualifying campaign for the 2014 edition of football's biggest event, against Sudan at home and against Lesotho away. After defeating Ghana at Ndola in June 2012, they could still have qualified for Brazil with a win over the Black Stars in Kumasi, in September 2013.
Unfortunately for Zambian fans, Ghana advanced to the third round thanks to goals from Waris Majeed and Kwadwo Asamoah.
Cote d’Ivoire in 2018
Herve Renard oversaw Cote d'Ivoire's triumph at the continental high table in Equatorial Guinea, in 2015, three years after winning the Nations Cup with Zambia.
It was the last hurrah for the Elephants' Golden Generation, and their aging legs spoke in Group C of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, as they finished second to Morocco.
In reality, the Ivorians were way behind the pack, with a home defeat to Gabon in September 2017 indicating a team on the decline.
Cameroon 2017
In 2017, Cameroon dethroned Ivory Coast as African champions, defeating Egypt in the Final after edging out Ghana in the semi-final.
Their World Cup qualification campaign started on a hesitant note, with draws against Algeria and Zambia. But things became considerably worse in September 2017.
They were thrashed 4-0 by Nigeria in what was possibly Gernot Rohr's greatest performance as Super Eagles coach. Even though Cameroon regained some respect with a 2-0 victory against Algeria in Yaounde a month later, the defeat in Uyo proved devastating.
Senegal?
Senegal won their first Africa Cup of Nations title last month in Cameroon, defeating Egypt on penalties in the Final.
Egypt will face Senegal in the World Cup qualifiers.
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As historic as that triumph was, the Teranga Lions must follow it up with qualification for the biggest football tournament, to be held this year. They should be looking to represent Africa in Qatar as the continent's champions.
Senegal are aiming for back-to-back World Cup qualifications for the first time in their history. They had been eliminated in the group stage of the 2018 event.
Failure in their playoff versus Egypt would be a big blow to Aliou Cisse's progress. Senegal would be hoping that they do not suffer the curse that has afflicted some African champions of the past.