From Milla's dance to Gyan's tears: three African World Cup 1/4 finals as a maximum that calls to be topped

"First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

Mahatma Gandhi

It's been almost 100 years since one African country - Egypt, to be precise - appeared at the FIFA World Cup (1934) for the first time ever. From that moment on, 12 more African nations reached the paramount competition leaving a remarkable trace in the history of the World Cup and this beautiful game.

However, Africa stayed out of the WC from 1934 up until 1970, when Morocco opened the door for all African countries with its courageous group-stage battle and one point deservedly won thanks to a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria.

The first historic WC victory came eight years later, in Argentina in 1978, as Tunisia thumped Mexico 3-1 before stunning the world with a goalless draw against the reigning champion West Germany 2-0.

Eight years later, in Mexico in 1986, Morocco became the first African team to reach the competition's knockout stage after beating Portugal and sharing spoils with England and Poland. They were eventually eliminated by West Germany in the second round, thus conceding a single goal.

Anyhow, that was a perfect prelude for what was about to happen four years later, in Italy in 1990.

Led by USSR coach Valeri Nepomniachi, Cameroon took the world by storm thanks to one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. The African debutants brushed aside the defending champion Argentina 1-0, captained by legendary Diego Armando Maradona, in the opening game of the tournament.

What followed was another splendid victory, 2-1 against Romania, and the 4-0 loss to USSR in a dead-rubber match didn't affect the Indomitable Lions ahead of the knockout phase. There they met emblematic Colombia, with its undisputed stars - controversial goalkeeper Rene Higiuta and playmaker Carlos Valderama.

The former made headlines that day, losing a critical ball some 20 yards out in the extra time for Roger Milla's second goal of the game. The match ended in Cameroon's 2-1 win, and the mighty Indomitable Lions reached the quarter-finals - at that moment, the unprecedented success for any African country. Moreover, they fought bravely in the Round of 8 against favourites England. They came from behind after trailing 1-0 but eventually lost 3-2 following an extra time, conceding not one but two penalties (!?).

Nigeria took over the torch in the following two World Cups, both times leaving the tournament in the Round of 16. And then, in 2002, Senegal made their amazing debut in Japan and South Korea, thus defeating the defending champion France 1-0 in the opening game, repeating Cameroon's 1990 achievement.

The world instantly met the likes of El Hadji Diouf, Kalilou Fadiga, late Pape Bouba Diop...

Two draws in the next two games, against Denmark and Uruguay, sent the Lions of Teranga to the next round as the group winners. Henrick Larson opened the scoring for Sweden before Henry Kamara's brace (the game ended 1-1) sealed the historic win in extra time.

Unfortunately for Africans, the 1/4 final drama against Turkey ended in the same fashion, only this time, the Europeans were the ones to celebrate. Ilhan Mansiz netted shortly after the extra time kicked off and booked his side the spot in the semifinal..

Finally, in 2010 Ghana made their only second WC appearance highly visible. After the Round of 16 four years prior, the Black Stars reached the 1/4 finals in South Africa, advancing from the group on the extent of Serbian and Australia, behind Germany. The Round of 16 clash against the USA ended in a frantic stoppage time, as Asamoah Gyan netted in the dying seconds of the match for a historic 2-1 win.

However, life can sometimes be so cruel - the very same player, Gyan, became a tragic hero in the next round, as he was given a larger-than-life chance to put his side in front with a 120th-minute penalty, and he missed it. Luis Suarez made that notorious handball save on the goal line, and the Uruguayan striker was sent off, but Gyan hit the crossbar, and the game headed into a penalty shootout. There, Uruguayans made the most of that God-given gift and went through to the semifinal.

One dream was torn apart instantly, but the third time one African team reached the Round of 8 stays in the collective memory. Now, twelve years later, it's time for the new paramount achievement. Or maybe even something bigger and better than ever...