Africa seeks answers after a disastrous World Cup

RABAT (Reuters) – African football will lead a look-into-play session at a two-day symposium in Morocco after the continent's five teams will not have crossed the first hurdle of the World Cup.

Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria and Senegal have all been eliminated in Russia leaving Africa without a representative in the knockout rounds for the first time since the 1982 final in Spain.

Coaches and officials from five countries will discuss disappointing results during a debriefing held in Rabat by the African Football Confederation and the Moroccan Football Federation on Sunday and Monday.

"It was a disappointment for African teams and the African continent," said former Nigerian international Emmanuel Amunike, who was part of FIFA's technical study group charged with Analyzing the World Cup and participating in the symposium.

"Many people were expecting African teams to progress beyond what they did before, but unfortunately that did not materialize.

" The truth is that we are all aware that football has evolved a lot and will continue to change, and we in Africa, if we do not take responsibility and see how we can develop our youth, will continue to live on dreams.

"I can tell you that there is a lot of raw talent but raw talent, without polishing them, will not give you a result," he said.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last week that Africa's failure to secure a team after the first round had been discussed by senior game officials and was a concern .

"You need a little luck to pbad the first round of a tournament like the World Cup, Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria all played very good football. Is a concern and we discussed it with the president of CAF and we will intervene, "he told reporters in Moscow.

"To succeed in the field, you have to get out of it and it is essential to work with the African federations to make sure that everything goes well for their organization."

Egypt was the first African country to play at a World Cup in 1934 and since 1970, there has been a significant African presence at the tournament, rising to six teams in 2010 when the South Africa hosted the finals.

But none has reached the last four and only three African teams have reached the quarter-finals: Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.