From the beginning of the tournament, Ghana failed to convince many, especially in terms of goal scoring prowess. The team’s best assets were their midfield, which is mainly powered by Michael Essien, and their defense, which is captained by the redoubtable John Mensah. Unfortunately, due to Mensah’s red card against Nigera, Ghana were dealt a double blow. It wasn’t just the absence of Mensah in the back line – it was Essien’s absence from midfield (he was put in central defense).

I don’t know if I can quite agree with Claude LeRoy’s decision to use Essien as a defender. Essien is just okay as a CB whereas he’s magical in midfield. LeRoy wanted to line up a Mensah-less defense that was as intimidating as possible. Still, I would rather that LeRoy have put in someone else in order to let Essien influence the game in the way he knows best.

What’s done is done, and we can only now work from the benefit of hindsight. I’m just hoping that LeRoy gets a clue sometime soon because the Ghana FA has decided to keep him despite the loss to Cameroon (the 4-2 victory over the Ivory Coast for third place helped).

Ghana have much to look forward too. They have qualifying for World Cup 2010 as well as the qualifying for the African Cup of Nations 2010.

But it will be a very long time when Ghana once again have the chance to win the trophy on home soil.

February 3rd, 2008
Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
12 PM Eastern Time (18:00 CET, 17:00 GMT)

Match Background:

It took them three games, but Ghana finally seem to have the momentum they need if they want to make it to the finals. Last week’s solid game against Morocco gave confidence not just to the players but to the fans. And while the Black Stars still aren’t that comfortable offensively, there is the sense that the team is starting to come together.

Nigeria on the other hand owe their qualification to a lot of luck. With only a single win the group stages, Nigeria pipped Mali to second place due to goal differential. But they were in a group with the Ivory Coast and Mali, so it’s hard to gauge exactly how strong Nigeria’s team is. And as we all know, some teams sleepwalk through the group stages only to wake up when things get serious. Though for Ghana’s sake, I’m hoping Nigeria isn’t one of them.

For Ghana, this game is a chance to notch their first competitive win against Nigeria in over sixteen years. Historically, the two sides have met 59 times, Ghana with 24 wins, Nigeria with 16 wins, with the other 19 matches ending as draws.

The respective FAs of the two countries are also currently involved in a dispute over tickets. Ghana have set aside only 2000 tickets in a 45000 seat stadium, which prompted Nigeria to ask for 5000 tickets. Nigeria know that Ghana’s support will be particularly intense and were hoping that having a few more Nigerian voices in the crowd would help bolster the Super Eagles.

Player wise, both teams boast some serious talent. Chelsea’s Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel will be facing off in midfield while Portsmouth’s Sulley Muntari will have ample opportunities to foul club teammate John Utaka. And let’s not forget that Marseille’s Taye Taiwo will have the job of keeping fellow Marseillais Andre Ayew (if he plays) in check. I could go on and on, but you guys get the picture. Club friendships don’t make it onto the pitch.

Squads:

Good news is that Laryea Kingston is back! I’ll be happy to see him on the wings again. Now let’s hope he stays away from picking up any more silly cards. Unfortunately, Asamoah Gyan is still uncertain for this match. He strained his muscles during his bicycle kick during the game against Morocco, so his presence will depend on his passing a late fitness test. But otherwise, Claude LeRoy will have all 23 players available.

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

Nigeria on the other hand aren’t so lucky. Captain Nwankwo Kanu is still out with a strained knee ligament, which he picked up during Nigeria’s first group stage match against the Ivory Coast. Though Berti Vogts has yet to rule him officially out of the game, his participation is extremely unlikely. Additionally, Peter Odemwingie will be suspended, which will be a blow since he’s one of their starting strikers.

Nigeria squad: Aiyenugba, Ejide, Enyeama – Afolabi, Apam, Emeghara, Nwaneri, Shittu, Taiwo, Yobo – Eromoigbe, Etuhu, Obi Mikel, Okonkwo, Olofinjana, Uche – Aiyegbeni, Kanu, Makinwa, Martins, Nsofor, Utaka

Tactics:

Nothing crazy to report here. Ghana’s starting XI is fairly predictable.

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

Given that Anthony Annan’s performance was fairly satisfactory last week (more so than Quincy Owusu-Abeyie’s), it’s likely that LeRoy will start him once again, which will allow Muntari and Kingston to play in their more favored wing positions.

If Gyan is declared unfit for the match, it’s possible that Quincy will pair Junior Agogo up front.

Viewing Options:

Read the WCB’s comprehensive guide to streaming 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 don’t expect this match to be an open game. A cagey 1-0 sounds like the safest bet.

Nigeria are probably the only team in the tournament relishing the chance to play against Ghana (a death wish, I know). They want revenge over a humiliating 4-1 loss several years again in a friendly and aren’t showing even a hint of trepidation at taking on the tournament hosts. In fact, they want to “black out the Black Stars.”

Nigeria’s assistant coach Austin Eguavoen has this to say:

“We are rated as the best team in Africa currently and so should not fear any team in this competition. Our target is to win the Cup and that means we have to knock out Ghana to stay on course. It will not be easy but if there is one team capable of doing this, it is Nigeria.”

I admit that I’m totally new to Ghana and the Black Stars, but I’m going to jump on the bitter enemy bandwagon and say a big FU to Nigeria. Keep dreaming, guys. The only place Nigeria is going after Sunday’s match is back home.

Some of the threats were broadcast on local radio by irate media and angry fans while a few more zealous ones went so far as to place phonecalls to the Gyan family threatening to burn down their houses with the brothers failed to score against Morocco. This is after Gyan pleaded with his supporters to be patient with him.

The threats frightened Gyan’s family so much that the brothers had decided to quit from the tournament. In fact, they had packed their bags and were waiting in the lobby of their team hotel before anyone else figured out what was happening. It took some convincing by the staff and some of the senior players, but the brothers were eventually persuaded to stay – after the Ghana FA promised to provide protection for their families and their property.

Claude LeRoy was furious, calling the criticism unjust, especially since it was Gyan who scored the penalty during the game against Guinea. He was disappointed that some Ghanaians had forgotten Gyan’s heroics during the last World Cup, as well as in countless campaigns for the Black Stars. The players have also united behind Gyan as they in turn criticized those “fans” who are in fact undermining Ghana’s campaign. Even Ghana’s president, John Kufuor, personally came to the defense of Gyan during a presidential broadcast.

Thankfully, Gyan managed to put this past weekend’s unpleasantness behind him during today’s game against Morocco. While he didn’t score, he played very well and came close several times. I was very pleased to see that he was applauded off the pitch, partly for his performance and partly in support. It just goes to show that while there are some idiotic fans out there, the vast majority of them are not.

Finally a Game to Smile About!

Goals: Ghana (Essien 26, Muntari 44). Video and pictures at the end of the post.

Lying in wait is either the Ivory Coast or Mali (or maybe Nigeria), but it depends on the outcome of their last group games, which take place tomorrow. As group winners, Ghana will face the runners-up of Group B. Still, Ghana shouldn’t get carried away. While they did have a good game today, they can (and should) do better. The victory was a morale booster, but the Black Stars have to raise the level of their play even higher if they want to make it to the finals.

Let’s talk about the game itself. Since Laryea Kingston was out, LeRoy opted to give midfielder Anthony Annon his African Cup of Nations debut instead of giving Andre Ayew Kingston’s usual place. This allowed Sulley Muntari to move back onto the wings, where he’s most effective. Quincy changed sides (he can play on the left and the right), and as LeRoy promised, he stayed true to his strike pair of Junior Agogo and Asamoah Gyan.

Here is starting lineup that Claude LeRoy chose to go with:

Kingson
Paintsil – Mensah – Addo – Sarpei
Owusu-Abeyie – Essien – Annan – Muntari
Agogo – Gyan

The match started out in Morocco’s favor, with the Atlas Lions putting a nervous looking Ghanaian defense under pressure. But after two early chances which were saved by Richard Kingson, Ghana began to gain their bearings, and nearly half an hour into the game, they went ahead. Muntari, known for his free kick abilities, fooled the Moroccan defense into thinking he was going for goal, but he chipped his free kick just ahead of Michael Essien, who put it into the back of the net. Essien returned the favor twenty minutes later when he set up Muntari, who added Ghana’s second right before half time.

Ghana started the second half slowly, but Morocco failed to capitalize. Ghana could have had two more goals, but Gyan passed when he should have taken the shot while Agogo hit the crossbar. The last ten minutes were particularly hectic, with both Gyan, Agogo, Owusu-Abeyie, Essien, and Muntari all coming close.

Essien was once again the MVP of the match, though I have to say that I’m most happy for Gyan, who’s had a pretty rough week, what with getting booed off the pitch last week and receiving death threats. But today he played very well and was applauded off the pitch. Let’s hope he scores at least one goal before the tournament is over.

As for Morocco, besides the first ten minutes, they spent most of the game on the back foot, and towards the end of the game, their sole goal seemed to be preventing Ghana from scoring another as opposed to getting a goal for themselves. I was expecting Morocco to put up more of a fight, but they made too many unforced errors and played without any direction, and having managed only one shot on target in the second half, the Morocco that showed up in Accra today was far below the level that they are capable of. What a disappointing end to their tournament, which began to brightly with that 5-1 thrashing of Namibia.

John Paintsil’s own goal was controversially denied to Morocco.

I also can’t end this match review without touching on Hicham Aboucherouane’s disallowed goal. Three minutes after Ghana’s first goal, Morocco had almost evened the score when John Paintsil mistakenly headed Aboucherouane’s free-kick into his own net, but the referee ruled that the goal was offside. Unfortunately, I was away from my computer when this happened, so I missed this as well as the replays. I did see the goal later on highlights, but I can see why so many people are unhappy with the referee’s decision. Apparently, the linesman’s flag didn’t go up until after the ball went into the net, and the Moroccan player that was offside was at the far end and would have had no impact on the play. But like I said, I’m basing this on various post-match reports. Should Morocco’s goal have counted?

If so, would it have changed the outcome of the game? Part of me says no because Ghana had dominated nearly the entire match. And unlike their last two games, Ghana were determined to raise their game. I’m also of the opinion that a team that depends on another’s errors doesn’t deserve to progress. Mistakes happen in all games, and Morocco certainly isn’t the first team to be denied a rightful goal (my very own Lyon had a game-winning goal wrongfully disallowed over the weekend). A good team rises above incidents like that. What Morocco should have done was take the game back into their own hands and fought back, as opposed to being so demoralized by it.

But then again, it was shady refereeing at best and certainly not the quality expected at such a high level tournament.

Thoughts?

Match Highlights:

If you missed the game, catch up on the WCB’s Liveblog of this match.

Photos:

We will miss you, Layrea.

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

Match Background:

Despite having won their previous two matches, Ghana still aren’t assured of qualification. Thanks to a poor goal differential, and thanks to both Guinea and Morocco battling for qualification, it’s entirely possible that the Black Stars don’t secure a spot in the quarterfinals. While they can qualify with only a draw against Morocco (though Claude LeRoy promised he would go for the win), Morocco need a win to qualify, especially if Guinea beat Namibia (which is quite likely), so this game will be Ghana’s toughest yet.

Unfortunately for Ghana, their style of play has proven to be a disappointment, and the team looks anything but confident. Home advantage hasn’t brought out the best in Ghana, which has disgruntled many supporters, who were expecting their team to play with more…fervor. The fact that the pace of their build up is even slower than the unfortunates in the group, Namibia, doesn’t help the situation any.

LeRoy has tried to get his players to play possession football, but unlike Franco-Latino teams, they’ve been unable to do anything useful with it. Worse, while Ghana does a good job of stifling their opponent’s midfield, they can’t seem to create anything on their own, which means the strikers hardly have any useful service. Whatever balls are floated are headed away by defenders, so that final pass never materializes.

So far, Ghana have managed to get by with the bare minimum. But Morocco is an entirely different prospect than Guinea and Namibia. First of all, Morocco do play quick, attacking football, a style that might severely disadvantage the Black Stars. The Atlas Lions will probably end up losing control of the midfield, but they have better strikers and have actualwingers.

Ghana must win this game, and they should do so convincingly. Their supporters deserve to see Ghana play to their potential, and what’s more, if they don’t win, even if Ghana qualify, they will be runners-up and could face the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals.

Squads:

Since Laryea Kingston picked up a stupid yellow card against Namibia, he will have to sit this match out. He’s been one of Ghana’s best players so far, and though LeRoy claims that he has other players who can play that role, his absence is a huge loss.

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

Ghana can consider themselves lucky that Soufiane Alloudi, Morocco’s hat trick hero, is still doubtful for the match. As for the rest of Morocco’s team, it’s hard to predict what squad the Atlas Lions will put out after their disappointing performance against Guinea. Mahmoud over at the Morocco Offside should have more information on what to expect from Morocco.

Morocco squad: Bagui, Fouhami, Lamyaghri – Alioui, Chahiri, Chretien, El Karkouri, Erbate,
Mahdoufi, Ouaddou – Alloudi, El Kaddouri, Kabous, Kharja, Kissi, Safri, Sektioui – Aboucherouane, Chamakh, El Moubarki, Hadji, Moukhtari, Zerka.

Tactics:

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

With Kingston’s suspended, LeRoy will probably be giving Andre Ayew his first start of the tournament. Kingston is a huge loss, but Ayew has a lot of pace and skill. And maybe Kingston’s absence will have a positive effect in forcing Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien to offer more offensively. And though Asamoah Gyan has been having a week to forget, LeRoy said that both Gyan and Junior Agogo would be starting this match.

I think this is the best we can do at the moment. Just imagine how much better Ghana would be if we had Kingston and Stephen Appiah playing. Oh that would be so beautiful. ::tears::

Viewing Options:

Read the WCB’s comprehensive guide to streaming here.

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

Expected Result:

Oh please something like 3-0. But realistically, probably something like 2-2.

His solution? Abolish all football betting, including the legal kind.

LeRoy just doesn’t get why football authorities allow betting companies to get involved in the sport (sponsorships, sanctioned betting, etc). According to LeRoy, betting could destroy football:

”When you let more merchants come into the temple, there is a big danger for the temple and football is the most beautiful temple that we can imagine in every country and we have to fight against all these merchants.”

To be honest, I pretty much agree with LeRoy. Not being a gambler myself, I don’t get the allure of betting on results, especially when it’s taken so seriously with such high stakes. It seems to me that putting money on a team’s win – another team’s loss – does take away from the purity of the game.

Football being a temple and all that.

Am I being too idealistic like LeRoy? Or does betting contribute to the sport?

The Ghanaian striker found himself the recipient of a cacophony of boos when he was substituted during the second half of Ghana’s match with Namibia. The reason? Bungling several clear cut scoring opportunities against a team that should have given Ghana little trouble.

After one particularly glaring miss, Gyan was so embarrassed that he pulled his shirt over his head to hide his face. Claude LeRoy, partially frustrated and partially sympathetic, replaced him shortly afterwards. At least LeRoy gave him a dreaded vote of confidence.

Says Gyan:

”I’m very sad because Ghanaians know what I can do on the field.The downfall of a man is not the end of his life…I have played 22 games for my country and scored 15 goals at my age. So if thing are not going well, I expect encouragement from the fans, not criticism…I am working on my play and I will find my rhythm. If things go well it will be better for the team and Ghanaians as well.”

Well, if Gyan could spend less time airing his grievances on various radio shows and more time practicing his shooting skills, the fans would be a lot happier with him.

These are the only Ghanaians smiling tonight.

Goals: Ghana (Agogo 41). Video and pictures at the end of the post.

Thanks to the win over Namibia this morning and to Morocco losing to Guinea, Ghana is the only undefeated team in the group. However, Ghana still haven’t qualified for the quarterfinals yet. Since both Guinea and Morocco are only adrift of Ghana by three points, if Ghana lose their next match against Morocco and Guinea sees off Namibia, it’s possible that Ghana doesn’t make it into the next round because of goal difference.

But first, let’s talk about the game. There were some concerns of a defensive meltdown (gee that sounds familiar…), with John Mensah, John Paintsil, and Shilla Illiasu doubtful for the match. But thankfully, they all passed late fitness tests and were cleared to play.

This is the starting lineup that Claude LeRoy elected to go with:

Richard Kingson
John Paintsil – Mensah – Addo – Sarpei
Kingston – Essien – Muntari – Owusu-Abeyie
A. Gyan – Junior Agogo

Subs: Baffour Gyan (for A. Gyan), Andre Ayew for Kingston

After Morocco hammered Namibia 5-1, it was tempting to think that this would be an easy three points for the Black Stars. However, Namibia showed up to play today (as opposed to last Sunday). While Ghana did dominate the possession, they weren’t able to do much with it and squandered several good opportunities (I’m looking at you, Asamoah Gyan).

Ghana were immensely relieved when Junior Agogo broke the deadlock a few minutes from halftime. Laryea Kingston did most of the hard work, breaking through the right side and sending over the perfect pass over to Agogo, who did…something…with his back heel to score.

Michael Essien was voted as Man of the Match.

You would think that having scored the first goal, Ghana would be putting away their chances in the second half. But that was sadly not the case. Namibia tried to press their advantage and looked threatening during brief spells of the second half, but the game was never really out of Ghana’s hands (though you could argue that Namibia deserved to walk away with a point due to their dedicated defending). The only noteworthy event in the second half (besides Gyan’s misses) was Kingston picking up a totally unnecessary yellow card, which means he’ll be suspended for the all important game against Morocco next Monday. Stupid!

I have to say that I’m not very impressed with Ghana at the moment, despite the fact that they’re leading their group. I’m worried that their inability to put away their chances will come back to haunt them. Just take a look at our two main rivals in this group – both Guinea and Morocco have scored more goals than Ghana did.

We saw this during last Sunday’s game against Guinea and again today. Ghana are great at dominating midfield play and breaking up the opposing team’s possession, but they lose composure in the final third. Right now, Ghana are getting by, but the further they advance in this competition, the fewer opportunities at goal they will have.

LeRoy has been doing a lot of this.

It’s something that LeRoy will have to work on because Ghana’s next opponent – their toughest so far – is free scoring Morocco, who have the ability to tear holes in any defense at the tournament. And Ghana, who have yet to convince anyone about their ability to take home the trophy – host nation or not – better pray that they start playing like the favorites they are labeled to be.

Agogo’s goal:

Photos:

Streams:

Sopcast:

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/sun20.1/Ghana_Guinea.html
sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/29995
sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/13697

TVants:

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/sun20.1/Ghana_Guinea2.html
tvants://www.p2psports.cn/tvants/?k=611411cf92d7ace93f5873f5325bd029 (English)