1994 Africa Footballer of the Year, Emmanuel Amuneke has thrown his weight behind African teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The World Cup kicks off in Qatar next month, with Africa represented by AFCON champion, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, Ghana and Tunisia.
The mission to make it past the group stage for all five countries could be tougher than ever.
Senegal has been drawn into Group A together with hosts Qatar, Ecuador, and the Netherlands.
Tunisia is lumped in Group D alongside France, Australia, and Denmark.
Morocco has to make it out of a Group F that also has Canada, Belgium, and Croatia.
Ghana has it all to do against former European champions Portugal, Korea Republic, and Uruguay in Group H.
Cameroon has probably the toughest challenge of it all in Group G, where there are also Switzerland, Brazil, and Serbia.
There are talks that it is time for Africa to make it past a continent-high quarterfinal placing.
Nigerian legend, Austin Okocha does not share that optimism, though former Barcelona winger, Amuneke is, however, convinced that Africa’s representatives have the quality to impress in Qatar.
Nevertheless, Amuneke believes the secret to reaching the latter stages of the World Cup is first to make it past the tricky group stage.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Amuneke said, “The five teams have been tested enough in recent friendlies, and they know they must first come out of the group before thinking of a semi-final ticket.
“One step at a time will do. The tournament in Qatar is a great opportunity for African teams to fix what happened in Russia when no team progressed into the second round.”