I can confidently say that this is the most talented African national team I've ever seen been assembled. Ivory Coast once had Salomon Kalou, Wilfried Bony, Gervinho, Emmanuel Eboué, Romaric, Didier Drogba, Aruna Dindane, Kolo & Yaya Touré in their national team but never reached the heights they could've reached, even if they won AFCON as their Golden Generation was waning in 2015. Pound-for-pound in terms of talent, they were equal & maybe better than the German team that won the 2014 World Cup & had more talent than the Netherlands team that reached the 2010 World Cup Final. That early 2010s Ivory Coast generation could have reached the 2010 World Cup Final & won the 2014 World Cup but they just didn't have a coach who could use their talents to full effect or maybe provide the necessary motivation to become the first ever African team to reach, at least, the semifinals of a senior men's FIFA World Cup.
And this is the case for African football in general. I think when our players go to a World Cup, they are just happy to be there while European & South American teams go to a World Cup believing there is a job at hand & they must not disgrace their countries. Even when a handful of African players want to prove their worth at a World Cup, they are brought down by the gravity of being African on a global stage. The "Who do you think you are?" gravity from both countrymen & the world which is likely not experienced by European or South American teams. Because in Europe, they expect their teams to reach the quarterfinals or even bring back the trophy no matter how outclassed they are in terms of talent compared to other national teams. While Africans often have no clear objective when qualifying for a FIFA World Cup.
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