A consequence of a lack of success at international level is that, when the legacy of Africa’s football is discussed, it often is necessary to reference players as opposed to national sides.
So while, at the World Cup, Algeria’s embarrassment of European champions Germany, Morocco’s advancement beyond the Group Stage, Cameroon’s run to the last eight, Nigeria’s refulgent attacking in 1994, the solidarity and speed of Senegal and Ghana’s counter-attacking game have, at various times and to various degrees, teased the continent’s latent promise, its greater impact on the global game at the highest level is in the players it has produced and exported (especially to Europe).