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00:00We know how important chemistry is, especially on a national team and especially in an international competition.
00:05And that's not worth the risk.
00:06I personally don't think that they should be allowed to join a team.
00:09I think AFCON, they have to win it. I think their hosts, their hosts, they have to win it. There's no excuse.
00:30Welcome to another episode of Five Aside on BN Sports. Today, it's a lot of talk about African football, Ghana, Morocco, Egyptian club football, and of course, cultural news with Air Afrique.
00:41We're going to get into all of this right now.
00:43But the first thing we have to talk about, and Josh, this pertains to you and the Ghanaians all over the world.
00:48Rumors are not confirmed, but the players whose names are floating around are, of course, Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi, two English-born players of Ghanaian descent.
00:57The question to you is, how do you feel about the Ghanaian national team bringing in players after you guys have qualified for the World Cup who didn't take part in the qualification process?
01:07No, that's a good question. I mean, personally, it just reminds me of the quote, no contribution, no chop. You know what I mean?
01:14Say that again.
01:15Hey, no contribution, no chop, Charlie. Bro, it's one of those things like if you don't, if you're not there during, you know, the struggle of getting to a major tournament, just stepping into the major tournament,
01:26it shines an interesting light. But it's about choosing, you know, the team that you want, choosing the national team specifically that you want from the start.
01:35It's understandable for someone to be split decision. Of course, it's understandable for it to be hard.
01:41At the end of the day, you know, obviously, the coaches also brought up the fact that, listen, you know, we want to honor the people who stuck with and went through.
01:48So that's interesting. We'd love to hear what y'all have to think as well, too.
01:52I would say I think there's a way to bring them in without letting them be at the forefront because you weren't part of the qualifying round.
01:59You weren't part of building up this squad, but you could be a useful asset and you don't want to kind of shoot yourself in the foot with the fact that you can bring in some incredible players to the squad.
02:08But I definitely think if you were to put them as instant starters, that would super hurt team chemistry.
02:14We know how important chemistry is, especially on a national team and especially in an international competition.
02:19And that's not worth the risk. I personally don't think that they should be allowed to join a team.
02:23One of Ghana's strongest teams ever, the team that went to the 2010 World Cup, was majority homegrown players.
02:30They won the U-20s World Cup in 2009, the year before with 100% players who came up in Ghana.
02:37And so that country specifically has a history of succeeding when they rely on players who came up in local academy systems.
02:44We see obviously South Africa right now, they just qualify for the World Cup first in their group.
02:49They fielded some of the some of the games that they played in qualifiers were 100% homegrown players.
02:54So we're seeing this pattern more and more that that could be a recipe for success.
02:58And I think Ghana should follow suit.
03:01I mean, how I feel is the complete opposite, I think.
03:04And I'll use the example of just a workplace environment.
03:07If you're a company that succeeds in one thing, you go on to another thing that's a bit more difficult because you succeeded in your first step.
03:15Why would you not go and bring better talent to achieve the second goal?
03:18At the end of the day, Ghana's players got paid to be part of the qualification process.
03:22So it's not like there's a sentimental issue of, oh, we struggled and we did this and we did that.
03:27You were compensated for your effort.
03:29Now it's a new challenge and a new thing.
03:31Bring in the best talent you can possibly do.
03:33That's how I feel.
03:34And personally, if it was Cameroon, if it was Italy, how I would feel is that I would want the best players to be part of that process.
03:40I would want the best players on the field going to the World Cup.
03:42And so if we have a chance to acquire new talent, you should.
03:45That's my opinion.
03:46I would want to integrate them directly in terms of the fact of, okay, if you could be the starting 11, would you directly put them there?
03:52Would you take them off the bench?
03:53I think you start off the bench and you let them have to prove themselves in the last 35, 40 minutes.
03:59Because at the end of the day, national team is much more about chemistry than club football.
04:03But I think it's kind of silly to not bring the talent.
04:07Because what if someone gets injured and then you said to yourself, man, I could have brought Nketsia to this tournament and I didn't because of pride?
04:13You should.
04:14You got to bring them.
04:15If you have the opportunity, you have to.
04:16The conversation that we just had, you know, about the Ghanaian national team brings up the fact that, you know, some cases it does work when you tap into the diaspora resources that you have.
04:24You know, Morocco is able to make a deep run in last year's last World Cup.
04:28And speaking of Morocco, we have to talk about what Morocco just did in the U20 World Cup.
04:32Champions of the world in the under 20 division, beating Argentina 2-0 in the final.
04:37Guys, Morocco has probably cemented itself as a footballing nation.
04:41That's probably my take right now.
04:42I think that Morocco can consider itself a top eight, top nine nation when it comes to the abilities that they have as a global resume for football, not just on the men's side, but on the women's side as well.
04:53There's precedent in the past for African nations having done very well in youth tournaments.
04:57Nigeria beating Argentina in a final.
05:00Ghana going all the way in 2009.
05:03But it has never really translated into semifinal or final success for African nations at the major World Cup for men.
05:11So we're looking at a Morocco team that did very well in the last World Cup is about to host AFCON.
05:16What can they do going into the World Cup?
05:19This Morocco team heading into the 2026 World Cup is going to have some of the highest expectations we've ever had for an African team at a World Cup.
05:25So you mentioned fresh off the 2022 semifinals.
05:28They're going to be fresh off hosting AFCON where a lot of us think they'll probably make at least a semifinal appearance.
05:33You have the likes of Ashraf Hakimi, who is a Ballon d'Or candidate, and he might become one once again.
05:37Now you have the U20 World Cup winners on top of all the financial investment in that country.
05:42Again, on both the men and women's side, you can feel that this isn't just a moment, but it's actually a movement in Morocco.
05:48So I think they're going to do really well. I think bare minimum, I'll give them quarterfinals at the 2026 World Cup.
05:54But it's great to see the building from the foundation that they're doing.
05:58And then now going into these major tournaments, they feel like one of the big dogs because they are one of the big dogs.
06:03And that's how I see them for 2026.
06:05Yeah, I think for me, really, like, I personally think Morocco can win the World Cup next year.
06:12Bang! Woo! Really? Bang!
06:14I think if they bring in like four to five young players from this U20 team, like they can have like almost like the perfect squad.
06:22I think they relied on the last World Cup, a lot of the experience that they had.
06:26If you look at like the likes of Amrabat, Ziyech, Bonu, Hakimi, a lot of these players are in their like mid 20s to early 30s.
06:35And that experience carried them all the way to the semifinal.
06:39But we see that like there's a lot of moments where they just have fatigue.
06:42Like they didn't have those like that young spark coming off the bench bringing a lot of energy.
06:47Like if you bring in like four or five of these guys who have shown that they could win an international tournament, they might have the perfect recipe.
06:55Yeah. Speaking of youth players that really, really did well for Morocco in this tournament, you have two.
07:00A deadly duo for the Moroccans, Offman Mama and Yassir Zubiri.
07:04Mama is a little bit of a CR7 regen, wears a number seven, moves like Ronaldo.
07:08You can tell he watched a lot of highlights of El Bicho growing up.
07:11Zubiri as well scored two goals in the final.
07:13But Mama, being a player who played in Ligue 1 for Montpellier, you can see his highlights.
07:19What he did in Ligue 1 is just a testament to how far he can go.
07:22And he's a player who is on the same list as folks like Messi, Aguero and Pogba.
07:27Because having won the golden ball at the U-20 tournament puts him among those names.
07:30And so this kind of brings me to my next question.
07:32Kendrick, you kind of already answered it.
07:34But what is success or what is failure for Morocco in their next two international tournaments?
07:38AFCON and World Cup.
07:39And I can start.
07:40I think AFCON, they have to win it.
07:41Oof.
07:42I think their hosts.
07:43100%.
07:44Their hosts, they have to win it.
07:45There's no excuse.
07:46And World Cup, I think going into a World Cup, I'm not as ambitious as you, Kendrick.
07:50But I think at least a semifinal.
07:52Today's date is October 23rd, 2025.
07:54I'm saying it now.
07:56Morocco, the Atlas Lions, they're the giant slayer.
07:59They're going to go on to win AFCON and they're going to go on to win the World Cup.
08:03Wow.
08:04Okay.
08:05All right.
08:06Well.
08:07Bold predictions.
08:08It brings me to my next topic pretty easily.
08:10Speaking of North African teams dominating, we'll bring it over to club football right
08:15now.
08:16A team in Egypt that is kind of new on the block because in Egypt you have the old heads.
08:20You have Al-Akhli, you have Zamalek who a lot of old Egyptians will know and be fans of.
08:24But there's a new team now that just recently got acquired in 2018, Pyramids FC, who just
08:28won the African Super Cup against RSB Berkana, which puts them in a position to play PSG in
08:34Qatar in December.
08:35Of course, they have to get through a semifinal first.
08:37But this is a team that's really starting to make waves.
08:39They're already qualified for the club World Cup in the next four years.
08:42Guys, what do you guys think about this new giant in North African soccer and African soccer
08:47as a club team?
08:48No, I think it's an incredible story because the club itself was only founded in 2008.
08:53They were then acquired in 2018 and being rebranded as Pyramids FC and only made their first ever
08:59African Continental Cup appearance in the 2019-2020 season.
09:03But to be able to come as far as they have already.
09:06They also won the African Champions League, winning 3-2 in the final against Mamalodi Sundowns,
09:12another club World Cup team.
09:14So just to be such a young team and already have ascended this high in Egyptian football
09:18and especially accelerating after the acquisition, it's incredible to see just how fast when you
09:23put that investment in, which you can really create with the team.
09:25And speaking of homegrown ball is one of the greatest ever from Africa.
09:28Didier Drogba has appeared in a Nike campaign with Air Afrique.
09:32It's a beautiful, beautiful story.
09:33It's a story of how African football and culture has kind of come together.
09:36Guys, I kind of want to hear your thoughts on this Air Afrique campaign and what it means
09:40for the culture of African soccer in general.
09:42It was really cool to see.
09:44Honestly, it's something that started in Abidjan.
09:46You know, recently they actually had a pop-up in New York, which was real cool.
09:51And the next stop is London.
09:52You know, they were able to go to Paris, stop in New York.
09:54And so it's a way to bring the dance floor together.
09:56And so obviously that, you know, this mode of transportation being the plane itself is something
10:01that's able to carry that culture globally.
10:03For me, it's just a testament to his longevity.
10:05Like there are still little kids who never watched Drogba play a game in their life,
10:09but they know what he means.
10:10They know the significance of him.
10:11They know what he looks like.
10:13And to have that sort of like lasting legacy years after finished playing the game.
10:18It's an incredible testament to all he's done.
10:20Speaking of great players, lastly, there's a debate that needs to happen right now
10:24about what players are coming into their Ballon d'Or candidacy.
10:27We have Dembele, who of course won it last year, but there's new players on the block like Harry Kane.
10:31Sala may be going for another shout.
10:33Lamia Mal.
10:34Who do we think is an early contender for the Ballon d'Or?
10:37And who could be the next player to sit at that table for the Ballon d'Or?
10:41I think Dembele's most likely person to dethrone him is actually his French teammate, Kylian Mbappe.
10:47The form that he's currently in with Real Madrid.
10:49The fact that he scored in 11 straight games for club and country.
10:52And the likelihood to also have a team success to go with his individual brilliance and statistics.
10:57I think he's the most likely person to get it.
10:59I think he's going to have the crazy 50-60 goal season.
11:02Real Madrid is probably going to win La Liga, maybe Champions League.
11:05We think France will probably have a deep run in the World Cup.
11:07So I'd go with Mbappe, but Kane and Haaland also have a great opportunity as well.
11:11I think because Hakimi has a really, really good chance of doing well with Morocco
11:15and has two major international tournaments this year.
11:17He's pretty high on the list of players who could make a good Ballon d'Or run.
11:21I predict that Morocco can go on to win the World Cup.
11:24I think PSG can go on to win a treble again if they get healthy.
11:28And so I think the more that he does to just lay claim to that prize,
11:33the more likely it is that he'll walk away and become another African Ballon d'Or winner
11:37on that very short exclusive list.
11:48Let us know what you guys think.
11:49This has been another episode of Five Aside on BN Sports.
11:52Tune in next week, same time.
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