Analysis: Ghana's opponents for 2014 World Cup qualifiers

Published on: 31 July 2011

By Ameenu Shardow

GHANAsoccernet.com takes an in-depth look at Ghana's Group opponents for the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

The 2010 Fifa World Cup quarter-finalists are in Group D alongside Sudan, Zambia and either Lesotho or Burundi.

Zambia:

Nicknamed Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets), the South African state has seen a recent surge in their football fortunes.

Currently ranked 74th in the world and 17th in Africa, the two-time Africa Cup of Nations runners up are definitely Ghana's biggest threat in this second qualifying round.

With Italian trainer Dario Bonnetti and an array of foreign based players (most plying their trade in the South African league), Zambia are well equipped to cause a major especially at their dreaded Konkola Stadium in Lusaka.

And with a president (Rupia Banda) who is prepared to support his team with all available resources, the Black Stars should be wary.

Zambia have never played at the Fifa World Cup finals.

On 27 April 1993, a Zambian Air Force Buffalo DHC-5D which was carrying the team to Senegal for a 1994 World Cup qualification match crashed, killing all 30 passengers, including 18 players and a number of coaches.

Sudan:

A lot of Ghanaians by now should be well aware of the qualities within the Sudanese squad having played them in almost all qualification groups in recent times.

Their lucrative league ensures they keep bulk of their players at home and even attract foreigners including Ghanaians to play there.

The Falcons of Jediane as they are nicknamed showed their class when they managed to hold a star-studded Black Stars team in their own backyard to a shocking 0-0 draw.

In fact, only poor finishing denied them the chance of stealing all three points in the 2012 Afcon qualifier in Kumasi last October.

Lesotho:

Not much is known about the Crocodiles and that is very much the danger-playing against an unknown quantity or dare I say quality?

The minnows nearly handed the Black Stars a shock after rattling two goals to taste a 3-2 defeat during the joint 2010 Fifa World Cup/Nations qualifiers.

The Crocodiles were pummeled at the Sekondi Stadium for the return leg in a 3-0 defat.

Burundi:

Burundi thwarted Ghana's qualification to the 1994 Fifa World Cup finals held in the United States after beating the Black Stars 1-0 in Bujumbura in October 1992 in the first leg.

Adel Amrouche's side are ranked 143 in the world and could probably end up as the weakest in the Group should they beat Lesotho in the first qualifying round.

The Belgian coach of Algerian origin is making a name for himself in the small central African country of Burundi, previously racked by rebel activity and civil unrest but now reaping the benefits of peace, following an impressive start to the 2012 CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

As one facet of his current job, Amrouche has been actively seeking to help Burundi players win transfers internationally where better exposure to the rigours of the modern game will turn them into better professionals and so better serve the cause of the national side.

Burundi's squad for the qualifier against the Ivorians last October had players from clubs in Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Tanzania and Turkey.

Les Hirondelles (The Swallows) have never qualified to the finals of the World Cup and Nations Cup.

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