Football
Ed Dove, Special to ESPN 6y

Grading Africa's World Cup five post-elimination

Africa's collective World Cup campaign was over after 15 matches - and only three victories - but it wasn't all doom and gloom for the continent's quintet.

Admittedly, none succeeded in reaching the knockout stages, but for each there are positives to take, even after mixed - and at times muddled - campaigns.

In this feature, KweséESPN's Ed Dove looks back over the group stage and grades each of Africa's five competing nations.

Egypt, D- : We begin with the Pharaohs, who are, unsurprisingly, bottom of the class as far as grades are concerned.

Despite being pooled into the easiest group of the eight - at least according to the FIFA World Rankings - they depart the tournament with zero points and having played some of the least attractive football on show.

Offensively, they were unconvincing, while their organised defensive approach let them down late against Uruguay and during the second half against Russia.

Even in their final fixture against Saudi Arabia, when the pressure was off, Egypt couldn't express themselves going forward - or avoid defeat.

The only thing that saves the Pharaohs from a lower grade here, is the caveat that their star man Mohamed Salah was injured ahead of the campaign.

Morocco, B+: The Atlas Lions were eliminated after two matches, and were beaten by Iran in their opening group game - surely a must-win fixture if they were to progress to the knockouts.

However, beyond that bleak outlook, things were actually pretty promising for Herve Renard's side.

They can rightly feel a sense of injustice following dubious refereeing displays in their 1-0 defeat by Portugal and their 2-2 draw with Spain, and it's telling that, even with the officiating not going their way, they were unfortunate not to take four points from those two European giants.

The style was attractive, while the team's organisation and pressing coherency were among the best in the tournament.

Nigeria, C-: The NFF praised 'gallant' Nigeria in the aftermath of the Super Eagles' elimination, but in truth, the platitudes have masked what was a bitterly disappointing campaign for the team - particularly considering the optimism that accompanied them to Russia.

Nigeria played well for perhaps 30 minutes of their entire group-stage campaign - during the second half against Iceland - and were outthought and outplayed by a lethargic Croatia side in their opener.

Gernot Rohr failed to solve his side's deficiencies from set pieces, nor get the best out of creative talents like John Obi Mikel and Alex Iwobi.

Finally, in their final group game, against an Argentina side they'd beaten 4-2 in Krasnodar in November, they sat back and invited pressure rather than attempt to expose the Albiceleste's feeble backline.

Tunisia, B-: Unlike the Super Eagles, Tunisia were out after two matches, and they were thoroughly exposed defensively by Belgium.

However, there are still some positives for the Carthage Eagles to take from their showing in Russia.

They pushed England close in their opener, only being denied a point following a momentary lapse at the death, while they still troubled Belgium going forward - netting twice following an influential showing by Wahbi Khazri.

The caveat for Tunisia's campaign is that it was ravaged by injury - both before and during the tournament - but despite being the only side in the competition to use all 23 players, they still ended their 40-year wait for a World Cup win by coming from behind to beat Panama.

Senegal, C: Unlike Tunisia, who arguably overachieved considering the circumstances that enveloped their time in Russia, Senegal surely underachieved in light of the context of their campaign.

They were pooled into perhaps the second most favourable group, and began their campaign with a vibrant, dynamic 2-1 victory over Poland.

They even started their second match against Japan strongly, but it was downhill from there, as sloppy defending twice allowed the Blue Samurai back into the match.

Ultimately, Aliou Cisse's side missed out on the knockouts after failing to beat Colombia in their final match.

Despite Poland having taken the lead against Japan in the other fixture, Senegal were unable to slow down the contest and see out the game, with another set piece proving their undoing 16 minutes from time.

It's a missed opportunity for a team who promised so much, but ultimately delivered so little.

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