In 2006 Ghana made their first appearance in the World Cup. In their maiden appearance Ghana did not disappoint Africa. Ghana was the sole African team to qualify into the second round. History has repeated itself and in South Africa 2010 Ghana again is the only of the five African representatives to advance in this year’s event. It is proper to congratulate the Ghana Black Stars for making Africa proud again. Bravo!

In the FIFA 2006 World Cup in Germany Ghana’s victory over the USA earned the Stars the ticket to advance to the 16th round. Once again I believe Ghanaian Black Stars has what it takes to go far in the competition by beating USA again. On Saturday June 27, 2010 Ghana is dubbed to beat USA again to advance further to 8th round.

GERMANY 2006 REVISITED

Unlike 2006 where the Stars’ had a painful 2-0 opening day defeat to Italy who eventually emerged as the FIFA 2006 champions, Ghana started well in 2010 not only with a win but proved to be the team that is hard to concede a goal. So far Ghana has conceded only 2 goals by the end of the group stage

First stage - Group D:

13 June GHANA 0-1 SERBIA; 19 June GHANA 1-1 AUSTRALIA; 23 June GHANA 0-1 GERMANY

In his book, Ghana, the Rediscovered Soccer Might, [ISBN: 978-1-4415-4275-5] the author gives a solid description of how it all unfolded IN 2006:

How it happened in 2006

During the first ever encounter in 2006 USA deployed their traditional system with two well organized lines across the park. However, on this fateful day US players ran into trouble against Ghana’s solid defensive line. The positioning of the Ghana back four was impeccable throughout having clearly struck up a good understanding among themselves. The centre-halves and the full-backs all made an exceptionally good impression. None of the US attacking players—Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Lewis or Brian McBride, who spent most of the match as a lone striker—succeeded in getting in behind the unconquerable Ghana defence. The players pushing on from midfield had no luck in this respect either.

The first attempt at goal came from Ghana in the 9th minute, with Michael Essien receiving a square pass in the box and firing wide. It was an extremely physical match in the early stages, with each team picking up a booking in the first 15 minutes. After winning a corner in the 17th minute, the US made their first effort on goal with a header straight at Kingston by Clint Dempsey. The game continued and five minutes later, Ghana opened the scoring.

US had to lose their captain, Claudio Reyna who was soon injured as he manages to make a save by coolly slotting the ball past goalkeeper Kasey Keller at the far post. Although he soon returned, he was substituted before the end of the first half which ended in a 1-0 in favour of Ghana. The Americans lifted their game and drew level when Damascus Beasley capitalized on a poor pass from Derek Boateng to centre for Dempsey to blast home the equalizer for USA. The Ghanaians remained unperturbed and fought back and had their second goal just before the break, courtesy a penalty converted by Skipper Steven Appiah after striker Razak Pimpong had been upended in the box by his American marker.

The Americans went from high to low within a matter of minutes Oguchi Onyewu was penalised for pushing Pimpong in the penalty area. Appiah was perfect from the penalty spot, giving Ghana the 2-1 in lead the 47th minute as they went into the interval.

Though the American lifted their game in the second half, they could not find a way past the tight Ghanaian defence until German Referee Markus Merk blew the final whistle for the end of the match, after five minutes of added time (p. 89-98.)

The defence was the most important component of Ghana’s victory in the 2006 Ghana-USA match. If Ghana is to advance to the next stage, they would not only have to follow the same strategy but add new ones. They can learn from their mistakes and so would USA.

CAUTION: US has a strong attacking machine. Therefore solely relying on offside traps could cause Ghana a surprise. Ghana must learn to shoot outside the box. A few long range shots would be useful. Most importantly, Ghana must follow up on long range shots. When and incase the goalkeeper punches the ball there should be a player present to complete the shot. This strategy put US through and they are going to try the same. Ghana should be aware of the attacking machine and the zest and zeal to follow up on shots at goal.

Okyere Bonna (www.okyerebonna.com)

The author is the author of Copies are available on sale in Ghana bookstores-Silverbird @ Accra Mall and challenge Bookstores. You can also order online at Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Ghana-Rediscovered-Soccer-Might-Okyere/product-reviews/1425725767