In 1977, Pele claimed that an African side would win the World Cup by the Millennium.

As of yet, that prediction has yet to materialize, although Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal have all reached the quarter-finals since 1990. The continent has also produced a wealth of talent from the Didier Drogbas and Samuel Eto'os to the Yaya Toures and Jay Jay Okochas.

But as Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Algeria prepare to make an impact in Brazil this summer, all is not rosy in the African garden.

On Episode 3 of Team 33 we found out more thaks to Tom Vernon, a former Manchester United scout who founded the Right To Dream football academy in Ghana.

He joined us on the line from Accra to tell us why scouts are not seeking out talent in Africa to the same extent as before, why player development can be an issue and why success at underage level is not being felt at senior level. 

Vernon is more optimistic about the chances of some of the African teams this summer and picks out the teams that will go farthest and the young African players to watch. 

Listen to the full interview below via the player or subscribe to Team 33's podcasts for free on iTunes.

Richard, Joe, Raf and Dan also talk iconic World Cup commentaries and analyse Australia's slim chances with Backpage Football's Neil Sherwin in Episode 3