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African Cup of Nations 2010: Ghana Team Guide

One of the perennial favourites Ghana have been granted no favours with the draw, finding themselves alongside the Ivory Coast and Togo in Group B of the African Cup of Nations 2010. Nevertheless despite being placed in a group containing three of Africa’s representatives at the 2006 World Cup, there’ll be no excuses if Ghana fail to progress.

It is an exciting time to be a fan of the side known as the Black Stars after Ghana excelled at their first ever World Cup in 2006 by reaching the round of 16. The most recent success came only in October, when the U-20 side won the FIFA World Youth Championships thanks to a victory against Brazil. Indeed six of the squad named for this tournament hail from that team, so Ghana certainly have one eye on the future.

With one of the strongest squads on the African continent comprised nearly exclusively of players under contract to high-profile European club sides and a new generation beating on the door of the senior team, coach Milovan Rajevac has a wealth of options available.

Qualification for the African Cup of Nations 2010 was sealed before any other side, with the exception of the hosts Angola, as Ghana wrapped up their place by June. Their strong form continued in the qualifying section, as they went on to complete their second ever qualification for a FIFA World Cup by topping the four-team group, which also contained Mali, Benin and Sudan.

Not all plain sailing

Whilst the recent achievements of the senior side paint a rosy picture for Ghana, qualification for the World Cup was only achieved after something of a scare in the supposedly easier initial group stage. Away form proved problematic, as Ghana slumped to defeats in both Libya (1-0) and Gabon (2-0).

A last gasp 3-0 home win against group whipping-boys Lesotho eased Ghana ahead of Libya, who had been topping the group until that final round of matches. The Libyan defeat to Gabon combined with that Ghanaian victory, saw all three sides finish on 12 points. However, it was Ghana’s superior attack that prevailed, as they narrowly topped the group on goal difference.

Their performance in the next group stage actually improved and four wins out of six, including victories in Benin and Mali, suggests that Ghana are back to their best form, and are certainly a force to be reckoned with at the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

A dress rehearsal

With all of Ghana will be eagerly anticipating their appearance in South Africa, the African Cup of Nations will prove an excellent opportunity to fine tune the team in competitive football, and the Ghanaian FA will be looking to claim their first continental title since 1982.

Since the turn of the decade Ghana have made the quarter finals on two occasions (2000 and 2002) and in 2006 put in their best performance since 1992, reaching the semi-finals in Egypt losing to Cameroon.

The main area of concern will be in midfield, where the experienced pair of Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari are both missing. Nevertheless with potentially the strongest pool of players to choose from in all of Africa, there will be no lack of expectation as Ghana look to once again become the joint most frequent winners of the tournament with Egypt on five victories.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Richard Kingson (Wigan), Daniel Agyei (Liberty), Philemon McCarthy (Hearts of Oak)

Defenders: John Paintsil (Fulham), Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen), Samuel Inkoom (Basel), Eric Addo (Roda JC), Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim), John Mensah (Sunderland), Lee Addy (Bechem Chelsea), Harrison Afful (Esperance Tunis)

Midfielders: Ibrahim Ayew (Zamalek), Michael Essien (Chelsea), Anthony Annan (Rosenberg), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Sampdoria), Opoku Agyemang (Al-Sadd), Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese), Moussa Nary (Auxerre), Andre Ayew (Arles)

Attackers: Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda), Asamoah Gyan (Rennes), Dominic Adiyiah (AC Milan), Haminu Draman (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Players to Watch

The lynchpin of this Ghana team will undoubtedly be Chelsea’s Michael Essien. Missing his usual partners at the heart of midfield Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah, there will be even more onus on Essien to drive his team forward from the centre of the pitch. Essien has matured into a fine player during his time at Chelsea building on the obvious potential he showed at his former side Lyon, and should be a star of this 2010 African Cup of Nations.

The squad includes several lesser-known players on the fringes of the national set up and draws heavily on the successful U20 side that claimed world honours at the FIFA World Youth Cup last year. New AC Milan signing Dominic Adiyiah will be hopeful of getting a chance to show what he can do. The top-scorer from those Youth Championships showed he possessed both pace and power in abundance, combining them with deadly accuracy from both long and close range, and many expect him to live up to his potential in Angola.

Fixtures

11th Jan � Togo

15th Jan � Ivory Coast

19th Jan � Burkina Faso

Prediction

Ghana will need to be at their best right from the outset, with the match against the Ivory Coast one of the potential highlights of the group stages. Whilst Ghana should have little difficulty qualifying for the quarter-finals, their position in the group, potentially decided by the outcome of the Ivory Coast clash, could have a significant bearing on their overall fate. Both these Group B heavyweights will be keen to avoid the hosts of the tournament Angola from Group A, if they progress. Topping Group B will therefore be the most likely route to avoid this scenario. Nevertheless overall victory in the tournament may elude Ghana on this occasion. After naming a squad with something of an experimental feel to it, the success of the 2010 African Cup of Nations may be judged against the number of youngsters who go on to make it into the World Cup squad later in the year rather than in terms of results.

Posted by Walter Townsend on Saturday, 26th December 2009

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