June 9, 2006
NO TOGO PARTY
African side expected to struggle in WC debut

Of the seven World Cup newcomers, many observers are not giving Togo much of a chance of winning a game. That's because the African side deploys a young side and the quality and experience of the opposition -- France, Switzerland South Korea -- might be too much for the team to overcome.

Nicknamed Les Eperviers -- the Sparrow Hawks -- the Togolese can only pray that their first venture into big-time international soccer doesn't repeat past history. That came at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile in 1987, when the Togolese had three players red-carded in their first two matches.

Togo has an extremely young team. The average age of the players who participated in the qualifiers were 22 years, four months, the youngest of all the 32 finalists. Its oldest player is 31-year-old defender Jean-Paul Abalo.

So, expect a lot of athleticism and enthusiasm to its game.

On the other hand, however, there's something to be said for the lack of international experience, which could go hand-in-hand with nerves. Add the fact that Togo has a reputation for being slow starters -- which isn't exactly the best way to enter a three-game first round -- and Togo could be three and out.

If Togo is to pull off an upset or even make a game interesting, it must play a tight defensive game and have someone score an opportunistic goal. That second responsibility likely will fall on the shoulders and at the feet of 6-foot-3 Emmanuel Adebayor, a 21-year-old striker who has combined raw talent with speed and quickness to become a scoring terror. Adebayor, who performs for Arsenal (England), led all Africans with 11 qualifying goals.

As good and promising as he is, Adebayor is a bit undisciplined. He missed a number of practices with Monaco (France) and wound up being booted off the team. Arsenal quickly gobbled him up.

Team captain and defender Jean-Paul Abalo, 30, has nearly 70 international appearances, including four stints at the African Nations Cup (the 2006 competition included). Abalo has been around the block, performing for a decade at S.C. Amiens (France) before moving to Dunkerque (France) earlier this season).

"We have good players and we have a chance to show that in our first World Cup appearance," defender Eric Akoto told www.FIFAWorldCup.com. "Look, nobody expected Senegal to get to the quarterfinals of the last World Cup finals, so there is no reason why we can't achieve the same kind of result."

You have to wonder what type of mental state Togo will be in as it enters the Cup. The Sparrow Hawks were horrendous at the Nations Cup and had their coach replaced.

Coach Otto Pfister said that he will select players for the Cup who are playing regularly.

"There are at least seven or eight regulars who will be the backbone of the side," he told Radio France International African sports program.

But you have to wonder how organized things will be. Pfister will work with the players on May 14, one day for the FIFA roster deadline.

"It's a new challenge for me but I have plenty of experience in African football," Pfister said. "I'm not expecting a lot of problems."

An interesting bit of information for World Cup history buffs

Ten countries went 0-3 in their initial Cups -- El Salvador (1970), Haiti (1974), Zaire (1974), New Zealand (1982), Canada (1986), Iraq (1986), United Arab Emirates (1990), Greece (1994), Slovenia (2002) and China (2002).