Ghana vs. Guinea Preview

I can’t believe it, but January 20th is finally here! In order to get ready for tomorrow’s game, here is my first ever Ghana NT preview. Scroll down to the bottom for pictures of the Black Stars in training.

January 20th, 2008
Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
12 PM Eastern Time (18:00 CET, 17:00 local time)

Match Background:

Ghana, one of the best African teams who don’t win anything, will have the weight of their nation’s expectations on their shoulders for the next few weeks. Their last major trophy win came in 1982, and despite always being considered a “favorite” in recent years, the Black Stars have failed to deliver.

Fans will be hoping that Ghana can take advantage of the fact that they’re playing on their home turf; the last two ACN winners, Tunisia and Egypt, took the trophy home under similar conditions. Unfortunately for Claude LeRoy, he will be without his captain. the influential midfielder Stephen Appiah. But LeRoy is still confident that he has a manpower deep enough to provide adequate cover. He’s also counting on the home crowds to be that all important 12th man.

In Group A, Ghana are the favorites, but it’s important to note that none of the other teams in the group – Guinea, Morocco, and Namibia – are lightweights. In fact, if FIFA rankings are taken seriously, Guinea and Morocco’s NTs are ranked higher than Ghana’s, at 33rd and 39th, respectively. Ghana is close behind at 43rd while Namibia is a distant 119th.

Tomorrow’s game against Guinea could make or break the rest of Ghana’s progress in this tournament. Losing tomorrow will set back their campaign and might mean their qualification is no longer in their own hands (especially since Ghana tend to be big match bottlers). But if they win, the Black Stars should be set and can approach the last two games with a confident attitude. So it will important that Ghana start tomorrow’s game with business like intentions and start pressing Guinea from the get go. They can’t afford to sit back and let Guinea make the first move.

Being an avid watcher of the French league, I’m familiar with many of Guinea’s players, and I can confidently say that they have some players that will make life miserable for Ghana. First of all is St. Etienne winger and Guinea captain Pascal Feindounou, who is dangerous on set pieces and has a good record in scoring in the ACN. Fodo Mansare of Toulouse is tricky winger, fast enough to get past even the most stalwart of defenses. Ismael Bangoura, formerly of Le Mans and now of Dynamo Kiev, is high on confidence, having already scored against the likes of Manchester United and Roma this year in the Champions League.

Guinea won’t be taking Ghana lightly and will be sure to put up a fight for the entire 90 minutes. And don’t forget they crushed Sudan 6-0 in a pre-tournament friendly. So they definitely mean business. They aren’t afraid of playing the hosts, and in fact, they are aiming for a spot in the semi-finals this year.

Read Daryl’s very excellent previews of both Ghana and Guinea for more in depth information about these teams.

Squads:

Besides the missing Appiah, LeRoy can count on his other first choice players being healthy. Thankfully, none of them picked up an untimely injury during training (and hopefully won’t pick up any during the tournament either). The bulk of the pressure will be on the shoulders of Michael Essien, who will be expected to spearhead Ghana’s campaign all the way to the finals. LeRoy will be counting on his versatility, his strength, his skill, and his experience (which is quite vast for a 25 year old) to make everyone forget about the absence of Appiah.

Ghana squad: Kingson, Adjei, Dauda – Pantsil, Opare, Asare, Mensah, Illiasu, Afful, Sarpei – Annan, Addo, Essien, Kumodzi, Kingston, Draman, Muntari, Ayew, Barusso – A. Gyan, B. Gyan, Agogo, Owusu-Abeyie, Asamoah

As for Guinea, none of their players are household names, and only one of them come from a European Champions League team (Bobo Balde plays for Celtic FC). Though coach Robert Nouzaret has left out three mainstays of the Guinea NT – Sambegou Bangoura, Ibrahima Yattara, and Kaba Diawara, he has an array of solid if unspectacular choices to make up for the loss.

Guinea squad: Camara, Diarso, Yattara – D. Balde, H. Balde, A. Camara, I. Camara, Bah, Diallo, Jabi, Kalabane, Zayatte – M. Cisse, Feindouno, Johnson, Sacko, Soumah, Sylla – Bangoura, K. Cisse, Correa, Mansare, Youla

Tactics:

We’ll probably be seeing Ghana’s traditional 4-4-2. It’s not the time for LeRoy to experiment, and based on the formations he’s used in the recent friendlies and practices, it’s what he’s likely to go with. From today’s training session, LeRoy apparently went with the following lineup:

Kingson
Paintsil – Addo – Mensah – Sarpei
Kingston – Muntari – Essien – Abeyie
Agogo – Gyan

Nothing surprising except for the inclusion of Eric Addo and Quincy-Owusu Abeyie. Of course Addo has played in defense before, but against Al-Shabbab, LeRoy used Ahmed Barusso instead. So either Barusso didn’t impress or LeRoy wants to save him as a sub for a midfield player.

As for Abeyie – well, he’s rather young and only recently was permitted by FIFA to represent Ghana (he represented the Netherlands in his youth). I would have thought that LeRoy would go for someone more experienced, but apparently Haminu Dramani may not be match fit, which has forced Sulley Muntari from the wings to a more centralized midfield role.

Mind you, LeRoy still has 15 hours to change his starting lineup.

Viewing Options:

As expected, the major sports networks (ESPN, Fox Soccer, Setanta, SkySports, GolTV) won’t be broadcasting this wonderful tournament. If you’re outside of Africa (especially if you’re in North America), have no fear – Daryl has dedicated an entire post on how to watch the African Cup of Nations. I recommend also reading the comments because many people have posted alternative sites and advice. And don’t forget to check out free streams, which you can find here and here.

You can also follow the game on the World Cup Blog’s LiveBlog, which will start about an hour before kickoff.

Expected Result:

I’m hoping that Ghana will start this game with all guns blazing. I also think Guinea has enough firepower to put a goal past Ghana, given that their strike force is better than Ghana’s defense. Still, Ghana should win. Let’s say 2-1. A recent survey by the Ghana FA has revealed that most fans think that Junior Agogo will be the first scorer for Ghana.

Photos: