With the World Cup being held in their very own continent and a wealth of talent proving themselves in Europe’s top leagues, it is easy to see why the African nations are feeling so optimistic ahead of this summer’s tournament. Never before has an African country won the big one, but the sheer thought of the jubilation across the continent, should it happen, will be enough inspiration for all the players and managers.

Sadly, if Januarys African Cup of Nations is anything to go by, the prospect of the Ivory Coast or Cameroon out-playing the likes of Brazil and Spain seems very unlikely. There was only ever going to be one winner of that tournament, and unfortunately for us, Egypt will not be heading to South Africa. Of the ones that will be, Cameroon were knocked out in the quarter finals, as were the Ivory Coast, Ghana were eventual runner’s up, with Nigeria and Algeria coming 3rd and 4th respectively.

So which team can pose a threat to the big boys this summer?

Well, should they perform, the Ivory Coast have the ability to challenge. In Didier Drogba they have a player who can win a match on his own. They also possess the likes of Kalou, Zokora, Yaya Toure and older brother Kolo. After their poor showing in the African Cup of Nations, The Elephants might not be full of confidence going in to the tournament after being drawn in the ‘group of death’ alongside Brazil, Portugal and North Korea. It is unlikely that they will qualify from the group but crazier things have happened so I wouldn’t rule them out.

Ghana could be potential outsiders. Just 5 months ago, their U-20 side clinched the FIFA U-20 World Cup, beating none other than Brazil in the final. Despite playing the majority of the game with 10-men, the young Ghanaians still managed to dominate, eventually winning on penalties. Of course, the big boys World Cup will be a different standard all together. It will depend on the manager to decide if the young hopefuls can take the step up. With the likes of Gyan and Essien in the squad, Ghana could well prove to be the one hope for Africa.

Cameroon seem unlikely to achieve anything spectacular. They do have Samuel Eto’o but he has been well below the form he showed at Barcelona and will hardly be able to carry a team through a World Cup. Algeria will have their work cut out in England’s group with the USA and Capello’s men being the overwhelming favourites. The lack of discipline, stroke madness, shown in the Nations Cup game against Eygpt will hardly be inspiring. That leaves Nigeria and the hosts South Africa. Nigeria are not the same team that qualified from the groups in 94 and 98 and, with Kanu upfront, they will hardly be feared by the rest of the teams. That leaves South Africa, and we all know what a home crowd can do. Without being too harsh, the home nation probably have the least chance of success. They don’t really have any stars, unless you count Benni McCarthy, but with the support of the people, they could shock everybody.

In honesty, if an African team win’s the World Cup this summer, I will eat my hat. Why? Well, despite the likes of Drogba, Essien and Eto’o being world class players, the rest of the player’s in the teams are fairly average. The African Cup of Nations may have boasted a number of top players but it also displayed an abundance of player’s from the French, Israeli, Swiss and Scottish leagues. Hardly World Cup winning standard compared to Spain, who have almost every player in their squad playing for a top four team in England or Spain.