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Ghana: New Kid On The Block Takes On The High And Mighty
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Accra Mail (Accra)
June 27, 2006
Posted to the web June 27, 2006
Arguably, at this stage of the World Cup, only two matches are creating great interest. They are the match today between newcomer Ghana and world champions Brazil, and of course the final match in Berlin on July 9.
In Ghana, there is a palpable mixture of wishful thinking, apprehension, hope, confidence insouciance and even fear in the air.
When ADM asked readers to make predictions on its website, these were the interesting results at the time of writing yesterday: Brazil 1-Ghana 0 (0%); Brazil 0-Ghana 1 (24%); Brazil 2-Ghana 0 (14%); Brazil 0-Ghana 2 (14%); Brazil 2-Ghana 1 (3%); Brazil 1-Ghana 2 (28%); Brazil 2-Ghana 3 (17%).
Ghanaians and indeed football fans around the world would expect nothing other than a very entertaining game from a side that calls itself the Brazil of Africa and a side that is the real thing. In the game of football, "you win, lose or draw".
Most pundits agree that even for now, the Black Stars are a success; they have proved their worth and shown the world that they can face any team boot to boot.
The Black Stars beat the world's second best team (Czech Republic) and also beat the World's fifth best team (U.S.A) to qualify to the one-eighth of the ongoing competition. Against the Brazilians, who are ranked the most successful and best team in the world, the Black Stars really have nothing to lose and all to gain.
The boys play the "Samba" type of football, which they learnt from the Brazilians and which could confuse the boys from Brazil, but realistically, today's match will not only be a master and a servant affair but also a David and Goliath affair.
With the no-no squad, which comprises, Ronaldihno, Robinho, Ronaldo, and Kaka, it is unthinkable for one to predict a win for the Black Stars.
On paper, the Brazilians are the favourites to win, but football is one game, which is unpredictable and full of surprises and the Black Stars, must take a cue from that axiom. They have already proved their worth and a win against Brazil will be the icing on the cake.
The Black Stars are expected to pitch strength against five times World Champions Brazil without midfield dynamo, Michael Essien whose bookable offence in the match against the USA automatically ruled him out of today's match.
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In spite of this development, players and technical team of the Stars have given the assurance that they will prove equal to the difficult task ahead.
Ghanaians are behind the team in what ever happens today.
Since yesterday, Ghanaian conversations have been peppered with phrases like "A victory can be achieved", "No hurdle is insurmountable", "Go Stars, go". "Today is your day." "Make Ghana and Africa proud once again"...
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