Ghana – World Cup Preview

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Without Michael Essien one could assume that Ghana’s fire would be all but extinguished. Essien has struggled with a knee injury for some time and is required to rest up during the tournament proper, despite being instrumental in Ghana’s qualification.

Yet it’s not fair to dismiss a team based solely on the absence on their star player. Essien’s loss will no doubt be felt but the Black Stars boast a team that’s a mix of youthful exuberance, fresh from winning the under 20′s World Cup last October, and the slightly older, more travelled players we are used to seeing.

Sulley Muntari too, is not to be forgotten, the midfielder won three trophies this year with Inter Milan and brings a touch of worldly experience to balance up the squad.

In their manager, Serbian Milovan Rajevec, Ghana have a strong tactician at the helm as well somewhat of a veteran in African nation terms. Four of the six African teams in South Africa this year have recently done away with their managers before entering the finals. Rajevec also helped guide Ghana to near success in the African Cup of Nations earlier this year where they narrowly missed out on the trophy, losing 1-0 to Egypt in the final.

Critics have been quick to highlight Ghana’s supposed lack of strength in their forward line but with talent like Dominic Adiyiah called up from the Black Satellites recently who knows what Ghana can pull out of the bag. Adiyiah recently transferred to AC Milan but has yet to start due to his international commitments.

The starting strike force will likely consist of Asamoah Gyan and Matthew Amoah, not the most prolific of forwards on record but still capable depending on the service from midfield. Ghana staple Stephen Appiah is likely to start behind them in order to open up their attack.