All African countries will employ African coaches for the first time at the World Cup. Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia all head to Qatar with African tacticians in charge.
The teams are led by: Walid Regraki, coach of Morocco, Jalal Kadri, coach of Tunisia, Aliou Cisse, coach of Senegal, Otto Addo, coach of Ghana, and Rigobert Song, coach of Cameroon.
All African teams seek glory at the 2022 World Cup, with the quarterfinals being the furthest round the continent’s teams have reached throughout the tournament’s history.
Senegal will be the first African team in action as they take on the Netherlands in Group A.
ALIOU CISSÉ
Aliou Cissé, 47, needs no introduction. He was part of the Senegal team that took the world by storm at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
He became the first coach to lead the Teranga Lions to their first continental trophy, the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
WALID REGRADUI
Walid Regradui, 46, is the head coach of the Morocco national football team. Born in France, Regragui was a full international for Morocco. He played for some clubs in France including Toulouse, AC Ajaccio, Grenoble, and Racing Santander
Walid was appointed to replace Vahid Halilhodžić, who led the North Africans to the tournament. Regradui is on a high, having coached Wydad Casablanca to the CAF Champions League title in May.
RIGOBERT SONG
Known for his defensive skills during his time as a player, Song usually played as a center-back but could also operate as a right-back.
Internationally, he played in a record eight Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and served as a captain in five (the ones he was not captain were South Africa 1996, Burkina Faso 1998, and Angola 2010), a record. He also holds the record for most consecutive games played in the tournament with 35 first-team games.
He won two CAF Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002.
With 137 appearances, Song also holds the record for the most capped player in the history of the Cameroon national team and has played in four World Cups: 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2010.
The legendary Rigobert Song, one of the most recognizable Cameroonian former footballers, knows what it takes to be part of a World Cup tournament.
JALELA KADRI
Jalela was appointed as Tunisia’s national team manager after being eliminated from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Burkina Faso. He led the team to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 51-year-old gaffer started his coaching career in 2002 with Tunisian side AS Djerba
He led Tunisia to win the 2022 Kirin Cup held in Japan as part of preparations for the World Cup.
OTTO ADDO
The former Ghanaian international was appointed to replace Milovan Rajevac after Ghana’s abysmal performance in the AFCON held in Cameroon last year.
The 48-year-old was born in Germany but decided to play for Ghana. He was capped in 15 games for the national team between 1999 and 2006.
He started his coaching career with his former club Hamburger SV in 2009, in the process serving as a youth team coach and an assistant manager till 2015.
He’s been with Dortmund since 2019. He also worked with Borussia Mönchengladbach as ‘Talent Coach’ from 2017 to 2019.
He qualified Ghana (on away goals) for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar after drawing 1–1 against the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The Black Stars of Ghana had earlier drawn 0–0 against the Super Eagles.