Patrick Viera insists there was too much pressure placed on African stars such as Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o at the World Cup.
The former French captain believes that the stars lacked the support from their team-mates, which has resulted in five out of six African teams being eliminated at the group stage.
Vieira said: "It is quite difficult to understand, some of the big names play in Europe and when they come back to their national teams they struggle a lot.
"Players like Drogba and Eto'o, when they play for their clubs there are other stars who share the pressure but when they come into the national team the people expect them to win games by themselves.
"They will make a difference but they cannot win a game by themselves. It is important for other players not to expect one player to make the difference - some players lay back and expect the big players to make a difference on their own. Other players must take responsibility as well."
The new rule which allows African players to represent the countries of their parents or grandparents even if they have played at national youth level in another country will continue to be beneficial according to Viera, who was born in Senegal.
"I never had a choice to make, I was in the French youth team and never had contact with the Senegal national team, but I don't have any regrets.
“But now there is a new rule so that if you got in the youth team (for one country) you can go and play in the senior team (of another).
"You can see the Algeria team, some of them played in the French youth team but played for the Algerian (senior) team. This is a good change for African countries, which will make them stronger."
The former French captain believes that the stars lacked the support from their team-mates, which has resulted in five out of six African teams being eliminated at the group stage.
Vieira said: "It is quite difficult to understand, some of the big names play in Europe and when they come back to their national teams they struggle a lot.
"Players like Drogba and Eto'o, when they play for their clubs there are other stars who share the pressure but when they come into the national team the people expect them to win games by themselves.
"They will make a difference but they cannot win a game by themselves. It is important for other players not to expect one player to make the difference - some players lay back and expect the big players to make a difference on their own. Other players must take responsibility as well."
The new rule which allows African players to represent the countries of their parents or grandparents even if they have played at national youth level in another country will continue to be beneficial according to Viera, who was born in Senegal.
"I never had a choice to make, I was in the French youth team and never had contact with the Senegal national team, but I don't have any regrets.
“But now there is a new rule so that if you got in the youth team (for one country) you can go and play in the senior team (of another).
"You can see the Algeria team, some of them played in the French youth team but played for the Algerian (senior) team. This is a good change for African countries, which will make them stronger."
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