Why so surprised?

England were great in their first match winning 4-2 over Croatia, so they were obviously favourites against Ghana today. But Ghana managed to hold the favourites to a 0-0 draw that is probably a small disappointment for the English, who nevertheless appear to have the best odds of winning the group in their last match against Panama.

That said, I find it somewhat baffling that Mexican TV commentators called it one of the big surprises of the tournament: Ghana are in my view a solid side, with technically skilled, disciplined and athletic players, who can match all European sides, and defeat many of them, something they have proven before. Besides the fact that they are managed by the experienced manager Carlos Queiroz, they count players in top clubs in England, Spain, France, with wide experience at all levels.

Anyone who did not know that Ghana would not be a walkover for England, does not watch enough football.

Ghana have four points for two matches, and nobody has yet scored against them. They will face Croatia in their last match in what will surely be one of the matches to watch. Croatia fought hard to defeat a solid Panamanian side 1-0 (more surprising than Ghana is in fact how good Thomas Christiansen's side is), so they need a victory to pass Ghana in the group, and at least a tie to ensure a best third place.

I put my money on my dear old Black Stars. 

My teams in the 2026 World Cup

In every World Cup, I have my favourite teams, countries that I in some way have some personal relationship to. That said, it is particular that in this World Cup with 48 teams, some of my favourites like Denmark and Chile have not qualified. That said, these are the countries I will follow:

• Argentina: where I lived as a child, will still be my favourite as I hope that they are able to defend their title
• Colombia: country of my mother. I hope they do well and will be supporting them as they play in Mexico City as well, with the certain invasion of a yellow army of fans for an overpriced match.
• Spain: Country where I lived and have family from, will be one of the favourites to take the title with an extraordinary team, and they will also play in Mexico, specifically in Guadalajara, against Uruguay
• USA: Lived there one year as a teenager; they may surprise at home, but I do not think they can go all the way, neither will I particularly support them.
• Ghana: My favourite African team since my time there 2003-2006, and their first World Cup in 2006, I have many lovely memories, and will be wearing my Black Stars shirt for the matches against England and Croatia!
• Mexico: I will surely support Mexico as they try to shine at home, mainly because of their fantastic fans as I do not find the squad very exciting. Perhaps it is good that they won't face Denmark!

All this said, it is not easy to get excited by this excessive, over-priced, over-hyped, and highly politicized World Cup; but I will watch nevertheless.

The Great Alphonse Davies

The Budumburam refugee camp in Ghana was a refuge for thousands and thousands refugees from Liberia, who fled the bloody civil war that destroyed the country in the 1990s and early 2000s. The squalid conditions of the camp were better than the utter destruction that the Liberians had fled, and many stayed in the camp for years, even decades, trying on the one hand to move somewhere else, or on the other hand to create a new life in Ghana. 

In 2000 a baby was born in the camp’s basic clinic run by UNHCR. The baby’s parents had fled the violence of Monrovia, and had applied for asylum in North America. The little family nevertheless stayed five year at Budumburum before being able to relocate to Canada and start a new life. 

The little boy, Alphonso Davies, would go on to be the youngest player to sign an MLS contract, the youngest player to debut and score on the Canadian national team, and the scorer of Canada’s first World Cup goal ever. He was signed by mighty Bayern Munich where he became the first Canadian to win the Champions League. Widely hailed as one of the best left-backs in the world, Alphonso Davies life started in the most difficult conditions imaginable, but he brought glory to his adopted country.

Uruguay will not be missed (sad but true)

Let me start by making one thing clear: I have been to Uruguay a few times, and love the country and the people. That I am happy they were eliminated in a tournament where men kick a ball around, has nothing to do with that.

I was looking forward to Ghana-Uruguay. I supported Ghana, surely, I have lived there, and I lived through with passion and admiration the famous 2010 quarterfinal. In the end Uruguay went through, although it was in a way that was not elegant and surely without the justice that Ghana had deserved. But the Ghanaians in 2010 went out with dignity. 

Yesterday Germany's manager was asked if he was angry that they had been eliminated by a bad VAR call (Japan's second goal), and Flick correctly said that Germany had been eliminated by their own lack of results. Germany this year also went out with dignity.

But going out with dignity is not something that the Uruguayans have shown today. Quite on the contrary, they are accusing VAR, FIFA, world conspiracies and the Universe for their elimination after their 2-0 victory over Ghana, which was simply not enough to go through as Portugal lost 1-2 to South Corea.

Get over yourself Uruguayan football: bad referee calls are a normal thing that has always existed in football, and sometimes they have gone with Uruguay, and sometimes against Uruguay. 

Just like they do for any side. There is no grand conspiracy against Uruguay. Uruguay were just not good enough: they should have attacked against South Corea and been more efficient against Portugal. And that is why Uruguay got eliminated, and fortunately so, because it is simply not nice to see such sore losers with lack of dignity in the tournament.

Thanks to Ghana for a great tournament, and congratulations to Portugal and South Corea!

Qualified and not qualified

We are in the last stages of the World Cup qualifiers. 

In Europe two decisive playoff matches saw Portugal and Poland qualify by defeating North Macedonia and Sweden respectively; both were 2-0 home victories. The Macedonians were never really close to pulling another surprise against the Portuguese, while the Swedes play without fantasy or passion, and will not really be missed in Qatar. One team remains to qualify: Wales will face the winner of Scotland-Ukraine, which was postponed due to the war in Ukraine.

In South America there was little to play for for everyone but Peru and Colombia. A victory for Peru against Paraguay would put them in the play-off match, while Colombia had to defeat Venezuela and hope that Peru did not win. Both Peru and Colombia won, but it was not enough for Colombia, who will be missed in Qatar (I am personally very sad not to see them qualify), but they only have themselves to blame for missing another World Cup (the last they missed was 2010). Peru in the meantime is going into a play-off match in June against Australia or the United Arab Emirates. It seems it will be Australia, and against them I think Peru's chances will be 50-50 of making it to their second World Cup in a row.

In Africa there was enormous excitement as the second legs of the playoffs took place with some upsets. Firstly, Nigeria will miss their first World Cup since 2006 when they only managed a 1-1 at home to Ghana, who I am personally happy to see back in the World Cup after they missed Russia 2018! 

In a near-repeat of the Africa Cup of Nations final Senegal eliminated Egypt after penalty kicks, following a 1-0 victory that had equalized Egypt's 1-0 victory in Cairo. The Senegalese fully deserved the victory as they were the ones looking for it, rather than the defensive Egyptians. That said, the victory was marred by the fans, who abused laser-lights at the Egyptian players, making the match appear like a rave party.

The other big upset was Cameroun, who defeated Algeria 1-2 in Algeria after having lost 0-1 at home. The match had to go into extra time, and after Ahmed Touba scoring an equalizer for Algeria in the 118th minute, Cameroun seemed eliminated, but a goal by Karl Toko Ekambi in the last kick of the match (124th minute!) put Cameroun in Qatar in what was surely a devastating blow for the talented Algerians. At the same time it will be great to see Cameroun back in a World Cup after the missed out on Russia 2018. 

Tunisia and Morocco will make up the rest if African contingent to Qatar.

Only three teams remain to qualify, and it will (likely) be decided among these: Wales, Scotland, Ukraine, Peru, Australia, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Costa Rica.

Down with COVID

 As many players go down with COVID, so did I. Disappointingly, as I feel I have gone to extraordinary lengths to not approach people.

Many games in the English Premier League were cancelled due to players with COVID. Not so Manchester City-Chelsea although both teams had players down with COVID, for Chelsea notably defender Andreas Christensen (who may be on the way to Barcelona). But Manchester City were clearly a better side, despite their narrow 1-0 victory on a magnificent strike by Kevin de Bruyne. After the victory Manchester City are 13 points clear of Chelsea on first place, and look like a very safe bet for English champions.

A team that was not down with COVID, but might as well have been was Ghana. The Black Stars had been poor against Gabon, when they hardly showed any attacking prowess, but against the Comoros the Ghana side also showed poor defending, and despite an almost comeback when being down 0-2, they ended up losing 2-3 and a disgraceful exit for Ghana from the AFCON. But at the same time one must congratulate Comoros who took their first victory in their first Africa Cup of Nations (and may at the time of writing have the option of going through as a best third-placed team).

Someone who does not have COVID is Robert Lewandowski, who just won the FIFA Best Player of the Year award, congratulations to him, although in my view some other players were better. That said, I completely agree that Alexia Putellas and Edouard Mendy were the best female player and goalkeeper respectively.

I will be unable to watch football as I have been asked to completely isolate for 12 days. This means that my TV room is a no-go area, as I imprisoned in just two rooms. This is just another downer of this stupid disease.

 

Very disappointing Ghana

 The African Cup of Nations is always a great tournament and it is great to be able to watch some of the matches here from El Salvador. Ghana has always been my favorite African team, so I was excited to be able to watch the Black Stars against Gabon. Ghana should be considered one of the outsiders for the title, but lost their first match 0-1 to Morocco, and were thus forced to pull a result against Gabon; preferably a win before their last match against the Comoros (whom Gabon defeated 2-0).

Gabon started the best, but the experienced Ghanaians slowly worked their way into the match and I  one of their few attacks Andrew Ayew scored after getting well away from the defender into a good shooting position. But after this Ghana were a disappointment. In the most outdated and boring catenaccio style the Ghanaians stood back to defend their narrow lead against a Gabonese side that had to be commended for playing their chance. Gabon’s reward and Ghana’s well-deserved punishment came in the 88th minute when Jim Allevinah, Claremont striker, equalized for Gabon. 

It was only then that Ghana again attacked, and they even produced a good chance following a corner, but frankly they deserved to be where they were for having played on the 0-1, instead of attacking more. After the match a huge brawl ensued as the Ghanaian players, sore losers, seemed angry at everyone, and amid the row one player was given a red card. 

Ghana did sadly not win friends on this day, and in their final match against Comoros they must show that they can attack, while hoping that Morocco (who has almost qualified with two wins), defeats a hard-working Gabon.

Semifinal disappointments

The two semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations are over, and many did not expect the outcome, and are rightfully disappointed (myself included).
Burkina Faso played a great match against Egypt, and in particular in the first half were in total control. But the Egypt of Hector Cuper are extremely well-organized in defense and are deadly in counter-attack. Although Burkina Faso scored the first goal against the Egyptians in the tournament, the end result of 1-1 tokk the match to a penalty shootout where the veteran goalkeeper Essam El Hadary saved the day for Egypt.
The Burkinabe are understandably disappointed, but expect to see more to them in the future.

Then there is Ghana: a dominant African power who have been in the last 6 semifinals, but have not managed to win the tournament since 1982. And again they were favourites to beat a Cameroon side that has been full of problems in this tournament. But the problem with Ghana is that they see themselves as rightul champions: and you are no kind of champions until you have won the final. Cameroon won 2-0 on a match were they fought hard and just seemed to want it much more than Ghana. And that is the real credit of the match: an excellent Cameroon side that will surely give everything to defeat Egypt!

I had been hoping for a Ghana-Burkina Faso final. But while we can see these teams play for bronze, the final will nevertheless be very interesting!

Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinals

The year has for me started a bit oddly, with a lot of travels and work that has not fully permitted me to dwell into football. This is a pity since one of the best tournaments that modern national team football has to offer has started in Gabon, namely the Africa Cup of Nations. And although I have only watched a few matches from my base in Monrovia, it is full of excitement!
Firstly, the hosts from Gabon were eliminated in a group won by Burkina Faso ahead of Cameroon. The most talked about was the elimination of the Gabonese, but credit to a tournament-oriented Burkinabe side and a Cameroon side of indomitable lions who have not gone beyond first round since 2010.
Gabon's elimination was not as sensational as that of the highly rated Algerians, who with a team full of stars were expected to make it far. But a defeat to Tunisia and ties to Senegal and Algeria saw them out with meager 2 points, while an exciting Senegal side won the group ahead of Tunisia.
Another big team eliminated were the defending champions of Ivory Coast. Much was also expected, but like the Algerians they also only managed 2 points with ties against DR Congo and Togo, while losing 0-1 to Morocco in the last all-important match. Morocco are not exciting to watch, but solid, and Ivory Coast's stars seemed to underestimate them. The big surprise was probably the DR Congo, who ended up winning the group ahead of Morocco, and will be one of the sides to watch.
In the last group Egypt and Ghana did what they were expected to do, easily outplaying Mali and Uganda and playing for first place tonight, in a match Egypt won 1-0, playing very intelligently against a Ghana side that could surely go all the way with its experience and talent.
With this great first round, we now have the following quarterfinals:

• Burkina Faso-Tunisia
• Egypt-Morocco
• Senegal-Cameroon
• DR Congo-Ghana

The matches promise to be great in a tournament full of surprises. Most of these teams follow their dreams of victory instead of dear of losing!!
Although I will not be in Africa to follow all the quarterfinals, be sure I will!

The African final I will miss

I have traveled to a Colombia where all the football discussion is about James Rodriguez' injury and about Chelsea's signing of Juan Cuadrado. As Colombians hardly know Africa, the interest for the African Cup of Nations is hardly noticed. As I left Liberia Ghana had strolled to the semi-finals to face the Equatorial Guinean hosts. I had been telling some Colombians about the exciting tournament, but I am now embarrassed to have praised it: while Ghana were great and beat the hosts 3-0, the Equatorial Guinean hosts were a disgrace to football, causing riots and attacking the Black Stars and their fans. 

Another disgrace to African football.

Ghana are now in the final of a tournament that they have been favourites to win for more than ten years, but have failed to since 1982. They will face the mighty Ivory Coast, another side that has been steadily disappointing for a decade or longer, and who won their last African Cup of Nations in 1992; against Ghana!

So whatever happens on Sunday, one side will emerge from the sea of disappointments, while another will need a life vest.

In the meantime I will not be able to watch it, as I enjoy beautiful Colombia, but with my heart supporting Ghana!

The Comeback Group Winners

Things have looked against Ghana in this Africa Cup of Nations: they started losing 1-2 to Senegal on a last minute goal. They then barely managed to defeat Algeria in the last minute. And today at first half, they were 0-1 down against South Africa. With Algeria leading 1-0 against Tunisia, it looked as if Ghana would end at the bottom of the group.
But Ghana have shown that they are a great side with a lot of routine by their ability to come back when things look the most difficult: with 17 minutes to go, and after intense pressure on the South  Africans, John Boye managed to equalize. With seven minutes to go Andre Ayew scored what would be the winner for the Ghanaians.
And with Algeria winning 2-0, the Black Stars moved from last to first in the group of death, ahead of the Algerians. Senegal, for whom everything looked so good, are out. So are South Africa, who played well, but who were up against a strong Ghana side that can still go all the way!

The first ones out

Living in Liberia it has not been easy to watch the Africa Cup of Nations. With matches at 4 PM I have been mostly at work, and quite a few places have preferred to show English Premier League. Very disappointing for the football culture in Liberia, a country that is light years from even qualifying to an African Cup of Nations.
On Friday afternoon I managed to watch my first match when I left the office early to watch Ghana versus Algeria while seeing the sun setting over the ocean at a bar/restaurant called Anglers. I was the only customer there when I rose to cheer Asamoah Gyan's late goal, that gave Ghana such an important victory. The final match against South Africa on Tuesday will be a drama!
Today the final round of matches of group A took place, and last tournament's finalists, Burkina Faso, needed to defeat Congo to continue in the tournament. But it was the Congolese who won 2-1 and are in the quarterfinals, quite surprising, by winning the group. In the other match, the home team of Equatorial Guinea came out celebrating after a 2-0 victory over Gabon, another side that more was expected from. The Guineans will be full of hope now in the quarterfinals of a tournament that they had originally been expelled from.
But a pity for Burkina Faso and Gabon; look forward to seeing them in the next tournament.

Dear Ghana

You have been a shining example of African football for so long. Why this circus now, when all eyes are on you? We knew that there was already problems when rumours of match fixing arose (this was not the first time match fixing allegations surround Ghana), and then the players threatening to go home unless 3 mio USD were paid. The Ghanaian government had to pay that money. The government of millions of hard working Ghanaians had to pay millions to a bunch of greedy guys for the honour of playing for their country.

Ghana, against Germany you showed that you were a world class team. But what will you show today? Amid controversy, conflict and greed, you are not the African team I would like to see in the next round. I want to see the happy, joyous country that Ghana is supposed to be.

Good luck Ghana. I hope you make it for your fans, but not for the greedy players and leaders representing you.

Portuguese disgrace and the safest bet of the tournament

Before the World Cup started Group G was surely to be considered one of the most difficult groups of the tournament with four world class teams who could all upset one another. So far, three of these teams have shown the promise given earlier: Germany, Ghana and USA. Portugal on the other hand have been a disgrace. Their 0-4 loss was only in part due to Germany playing well (they did), but also to a completely disastrous line up and generally poor performance. Today, Portugal had to try to redeem themselves against a USA side who had won a hard-worked victory over Ghana.

The USA are good. Not brilliant, but good, and they will punish any team that underestimates them. I do not think that, as in 2002, Portugal underestimated the USA this time, but rather that the Portuguese did not have sufficient quality to face them. Ronaldo only showed glimpses of class. Nani may have scored one, but in general he had no quality whatsoever. Eder was, to say the least, nonexistent as a footballer. But worse was the defense: the entire match there was a huge open gap on the left side of defense, besides opening big spaces in the center. 

This was just plain lack of quality in the whole defensive line of Portugal, and more worryingly, the coach did nothing about it.

As the USA were arrogantly celebrating before the end of the match, it was nevertheless only in place that Varela equalized to 2-2 in the last second of the match after a great pass from Ronaldo.

I must admit I was hoping for a Portugal victory, since this would make it more likely for Ghana to go through. Although a tie is better than a USA victory (since that would have made it extremely unlikely that Ghana would go through), it must be noted that a tie in the final match between Germany and USA would put both these sides through. I do believe that to put your money on a tie in that match is a very safe bet, considering the close links between the two football teams.

It is just a damn shame for Ghana.

As to Portugal, while they still have a slight hope to progress, this would nevertheless be an insult for all football fans. 

The best match of the tournament

I joined some great friends to watch Ghana versus Germany in the small Danish town of Viborg. It was not coincidental that it was the same friends with whom I had gone on a Ghana roadtrip in 2006 (http://footballfanaticos.blogspot.dk/2006/07/world-cup-road-trip.htm), when Ghana for the first time took the world with storm.

Ghana were under pressure for a result against Germany, who had looked almost invincible against Portugal. However, one should not forget that Germany faced an awful Portuguese side, where Ghana has quality. And it really turned into one of the best matches of the tournament with two teams that played good technical football and with heart. Both had confidence and wanted to win, and there were many chances. 2-2 was a fair result, although one was left with the feeling that Ghana did not sufficiently keep their head cool towards the end when they had a couple of counter-attacks.

Germany were not bad, but looked less awesome than they had done before, and certainly are not unbeatable. The most memorable moment was when Miroslav Klose equalized for Germany with his 15th World Cup goal, equalizing Ronaldo, and on the verge of becoming the most scoring player in World Cup history.

Ronaldo also scored his 15ht goal against Ghana.

I hope Germany and Ghana progress from this group. They want to play football. Ghana could defeat Portugal, but I fear that Germany and USA may have a small agreement in place, similar to the infamous West Germany-Austria match of 1982.

I hope not. The world deserves to see Ghana in the next round.

Another Iberian massacre

I must admit that I expected more of Portugal. But their tactic of "pass the ball to the handsome tall guy" totally backfired against a well-organised and clinically efficient Germany. In my view Thomas Muller was the find of the 2006 World Cup, and I still believe he could have done a difference had he played the 2010 semifinal against Spain. In the meantime he has grown to be one of the pillars of Bayern Munich, and now also of this German side. 

Portugal fans are already complaining about the referee. But there is nothing to complain about there. The penalty was clear, and Pepe... Well, what can you say about Pepe? He has always been a violent thug, and his red card puts a bit more decency into this World Cup. Contrary to others, this particular referee deserves a prize and not criticism.

4-0 was none too little, and the other teams that will play Portugal must be looking on with satisfaction.  The USA of Klinsmann, who started by defeating Ghana 2-1, will look to copy Germany, as well as repeat their 2002 victory over Portugal.

"My" countries in the World Cup

The World Cup was my entry to football. I liked seeing countries play, learning about them, and also seeing countries play that I had an attachment to. This continues to be the case, surely more than the quality of football, which is generally much lower than even in secondary European leagues.
That said, of course, there are certain countries I will be watching with more interest than others due to personal attachment to those countries (but as you can see, it will not mean I will support them. This is football, and has nothing to do about my view of the country!):

• Argentina: I lived in Argentina as a child, and my heart is unapologetically Argentine when it comes to national team football. While I will support them, I have many doubts, perhaps because my hope has been shattered so often. Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Gago, Higuain, Mascherano... It appears a strong side, but in my view they lack balance in defense and weight in midfield. I will be celebrating every one of their goals though.
•  Belgium: I have worked in Brussels, and visit Belgium every year. And even though it is in an international atmosphere where I have been far from Belgian reality, I have always been endeared to the Red Devils. Be sure I will drink a good Belgian beer and support them as their exciting young team may take Brazil with storm!
• Chile: I was born in Chile. I have not had particular attachment to their national team, and four years ago I was one of the few unimpressed as I thought they needed a bit more cynicism under Marcelo Bielsa. This year Chile are, if anything, better than four years ago, and may be the favourites of neutrals. While everyone has expectations, these can also be shattered, as Chile could easily be eliminated in the first round. Whatever happens I won't celebrate, but I won't cry either.
•  Colombia: I have Colombian background, and Colombia is finally back in the World Cup with a strong side. Under Jose Pekerman they play a bit old-fashioned Argentine football, but which also goes back to the strong Argentine influence on Colombian football. They have splendid attacking power (not only the doubtful Falcao) but a defense of old men. They will be popular as a team and for their fans, and I will be cheering with the rest of the world.
• Ghana: Ghana is the first African country I lived in, and was there during the 2006 World Cup, when I became a big fan of the Black Stars. In 2010 I cried with the rest of the world when they did not make the semi-finals. This will be a new test for a side that has nevertheless become more cynical over the years, playing a physical and defensive style that almost seems out of tune with the happiness of Ghanaians. I was almost happy when they were eliminated by Zambia from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. While I will wear my Ghana shirt every time they play, I hope that they will play better football.
• Spain: I have lived in Spain and have Spanish family and there is little not to love about the country. That said, on a football pitch I have always been critical of Spain. While I was happy they won the 2008 Euro, and admit they deserved the titles in 2010 and 2012, I remain critical of the possessive-defensive style and lack of directness. The total dependence on two clubs that annoy me are also a cause of criticism that makes me generally not support the national team. I do believe they are favourites for the title though.
• USA: I lived in the USA and have visited the country, where I have so many friends, many times. Football (I refuse to call it soccer) has never been the priority but I have followed closely as they get better and better. It will be interesting to see them under Jurgen Klinsmann, who set forward to change US football when he became national coach.

There are of course some countries I will be missing: Denmark, Venezuela, and Liberia!

Greatest World Cup matches: Ghana-Uruguay (2010)

The first World Cup in Africa came amid criticism whether the South African hosts were ready to host the tournament. On the pitch however, there was surely no doubt that Africa was ready: since the 1970s African football had taken enormous strides to take its place among the top world football. First Cameroun and Morocco had taken the world by storm in 1982 and 1986, and were then joined by Nigeria, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, all nations that in their World Cup appearances had performed at the highest level.
So as the tournament came to Africa for the first time ever, expectations were understandably high. But most were left disappointed: After a promising opener, the South African hosts proved to be the first host nation eliminated in the first round of a World Cup. Nigeria, Algeria and Cameroun all came last in their respective groups, while Cote d'Ivoire came third in a difficult group behind Brazil and Portugal. After the first round, only one African team was left in the tournament: the “Black Stars” from Ghana.
Ghana had until 2006 been a notable under-performer at senior level, while they had come to the forefront of youth football: World champions for U-17 in 1991 and 1995 and runners-up in the U-21 World cup in 1997, as well as a memorable bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics. The incredible pool of talent and a high level of organization had always made it only a question of time before Ghana would emerge on the stage, something that finally happened in 2006, for their first world cup, where they surprised everyone by making it to the last-16 ahead of the Czech Republic and the USA, and there losing to Brazil.
In 2006 they had been one of the youngest sides, so in 2010 they were a team with more experience that was to face Serbia, Australia and Germany in the first round. Under the Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac it was a more cynical Ghanaian side than the charming but naive side of 2006. They had started with a difficult 1-0 victory over Serbia and had then tied 1-1 with a fighting Australian side. Both goals were scored on penalty by the Rennes striker Asamoah Gyan. In their last group-match Ghana lost 1-2 to Germany, but when Australia managed to defeat Serbia, Ghana was through on goal difference.
In the last-16 Ghana faced the USA, and as in 2006 the Black Stars won 2-1, but after extra time.
As only the third African team to make it to a World Cup quarterfinal, all the hopes of the continent were now with Ghana, who were to face Uruguay. The team had been strong an efficient, but had been mired in some controversy as the Inter Milan striker, Sulley Muntari, who had been suspended from the team during qualification, had been expelled for insulting Rajevac. However, captain Stephen Appiah's plead to the coach had allowed Muntari to be pardoned by the coach.

It was proper that the double world champions of Uruguay would participate in the first World Cup in Africa; as the first hosts and champions themselves, Uruguay had also been the first country to use black players on their team, at a time when other countries were still immersed in their colonial racism and idiotic arrogance.
Although Uruguay had struggled to qualify (they qualified as the very last team after a hard-fought play-off match against Costa Rica), they arrived to the tournament with a powerful striking force in Diego Forlan, from Atletico Madrid, and Luis Suarez from Ajax Amsterdam, supplemented by players with a lot of experience in the top European leagues.
Uruguay started with a tie against France before defeating the hosts of South Africa 3-0 and Mexico 1-0 to take the first spot in their group. In the second round the South Americans played South Corea and won 2-1 on two goals by Suarez, and were now to face Africa's darlings in the quarterfinals.

The Uruguayan team started best in a match between two very skilled but also very physically strong sides. The South Americans completely dominated the first twenty minutes of the match, and the Wigan goalkeeper Richard Kingson had two good saves. But slowly Ghana fought themselves back into the match, and towards the end of the first half they were dominating when Uruguay was seriously weakened: Their experienced captain, Diego Lugano from Fenerbahce in Turkey, was injured and had to replaced by Andres Scotti. And things started to look bleaker for Uruguay when Ghana went ahead in the last seconds of the first half. The goal was scored on a long-range effort by the controversial Sulley Muntari, whose shot curled in such a way that it caught goalkeeper Fernando Muslera on the wrong foot.
But Uruguay kept their cool, and ten minutes into the second half Diego Forlan took a free kick outside the Ghanaian area, and also gave the ball a curve that caught Kingson on the wrong foot.
1-1.
The match then became a hard fought physical affair, with chances on both sides, although Luis Suarez missed a couple of great chances against Kingson. 1-1 in ordinary time, and the extra time was mostly characterized by tiredness, nerves and long-range attempts as the minutes slowly moved forward, until the last minute of extra time: Ghana got a free kick on the right side outside the Uruguayan penalty area. As the last kick of the match, they sent all men forward to try to get a goal before the penalty kicks. Dominic Adiyiah, AC Milan player who had come in for Muntari, got a strong header towards an empty goal, but Luis Suarez, who was standing on the goal-line, saved it with his hands to avoid Ghana taking the victory.
The referee was not in doubt: direct red card for Luis Suarez and penalty kick for Ghana, which would put them in the semifinal of the World Cup. Asamoah Gyan, who had scored three goals in the tournament, two of them on penalty, completely overshot his kick.
The villain, Luis Suarez, celebrated the miss from the sidelines.
Most people had the feeling that Uruguay, after looking into the deep hole of elimination, had all the advantages as the penalty kicks started. After John Mensah and Adiyiah missed for Ghana, Sebastian Abreu elegantly scored the goal that put Uruguay in the semifinal of the World Cup.
Until now, no African team has come closer to a World Cup semifinal. And it is scant consolation that Uruguay, without Suarez, lost the semifinal 2-3 to the Netherlands, and went on to lose the bronze match as well, 2-3 to Germany.
 

2^nd July 2010

Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg

Attendance: 84,000

Referee: Oligario Benquerenca (Portugal)

Teams:

Uruguay: Muslera, Maxi Pereira, Diego Lugano (Scotti), Victorino, Fucile, Alvaro Fernandez (Lodeiro), Perez, Arevalo Rios, Cavani (Abreu), Luis Suarez (RC, 120), Diego Forlan.

Ghana: Kingson, Pantsil, Vorsah, John Mensah, Sarpei, Annan, Inkoom (Steven Appiah), Asamoah, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Suley Muntari (Dominic Adiyiah), Asamoah Gyan

Ghana-Uruguay 1-1 (after extra time)

Goals:

1-0 Sulley Muntari (45)

1-1 Diego Forlan (55)

Penalty kicks:

Ghana-Uruguay 2-4

0-1 Forlan

1-1 Gyan

1-2 Victorino

2-2 Appiah

2-3 Scotti

Mensah missed for Ghana

Pereira missed for Uruguay

Adiyiah missed for Ghana

2-4 Abreu

Ghana... GHANA!

I was unable to watch Ghana-Egypt today, as I was still in the office, but was following a live feed of the match as goals were pouring in. Egypt, 2010 African champions and the only African nation to go through a clean sheet in the first round of qualifying seem to have been no match for Ghana!

But let us face the real World Cup facts: only one of these two nations belong in Brazil, and that is Ghana. Twice beloved in 2006 and 2010 for their World Cup participation, Ghana is a nation that embodies the best of African football: discipline, physical strength, technical skills, and not least, the best fans in the world. 

What about Egypt? World Cup participants in 1934 and 1990, winners in Africa many times, but without the stamina to qualify to World Cups. And what are their fans known for...?

No, Ghana belongs in Brazil, and I am more than delighted that they so thoroughly crushed the Egyptians today!

African World Cup Play-offs

The African World Cup Play-off draw has led to the following clashes:

• Ethiopia-Nigeria
• Ghana-Egypt
• Ivory Coast-Senegal
• Tunisia-Cameroun
• Burkina Faso-Algeria

The exciting newcomers from Ethiopia will have to play their best against Nigeria's African champions, while Ghana and Egypt will be an epic clash between two of the strongest footballing nations in Africa. Burkina Faso will also have to play their best to make it to their first World Cup ever, but it does not look impossible against Algeria.
First leg will be on October 11th to 15th!