“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” William Shakespeare.
The clock is ticking and fast. The battle line has been conspicuously marked. The stage is set for a breath-taking encounter between two of the most successful countries in African football.
They are better revered as the prima donnas or crème de la crème in Africa.
There have been so much hype and quite rightly billed as a crucial match for both sides. Ghana urgently requires nothing but a win to stay in the contest otherwise Egypt will be out of touch should they lose.
Matches between these two countries have always been a no nonsense and no punches pulled affair. The overall head-to-head record stands at 20 matches played, Egypt have run out victors on 10 occasions, Ghana has won 5 times with 5 ending in a draw.
The two recent matches have been nothing short of enthralling, scintillating and pulsating game. In October 2013, The Black Stars whitewashed The Pharoahs 6-1 in the first leg at Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi which rendered the second leg a mere formality.
The Pharoahs won the second leg by 2-1 but it was too little too late as they crushed out on 7-3 aggregate.
The 6-1 annihilation is still fresh in the minds of the Egyptians. They perceive this as a golden opportunity to avenge and erase that unsavoury demolition from their minds. The 76000 capacity Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria will most certainly be filled to capacity.
Expect a whole lot of negative tactics, intimidation and chanting and a hostile atmosphere before, during and even after the game. But Ghana Black Stars will need to steadfast and not be cowed or kowtow to these strategies.
The tactical acumen employed by Coach Avram Grant and Hector Cuper will most definitely have a telling effect on the game. Expect the Egyptians to start with all guns blazing from the blast of the whistle looking for an early goal. If It does not materialise as soon as possible, they will sit back and catch the Black Stars on those blistering brakes through Mohammed Salah.
This means that whoever is given the mantle to pull the brakes on Salah’s movement should be at full throttle. It will likely be Baba Rahman. He will have a big assignment on his hands as he will be given a run for his money.
Once he makes those marauding runs down the flanks, Wakaso should fill in for him to avoid the inevitable exploitation by the tactically discipline Egyptians.
Under no circumstances should the left flank be left exposed. We will be kissing goodbye to the world cup.
The repercussions of the absence of the talismanic captain Asamoah Gyan cannot be underemphasised. He will be sorely missed in this crucial encounter. Nonetheless, Jordan Ayew should seamlessly slot into that position though he is not molded into the typical out-and-out striker ilk.
Andre Ayew should also be installed to the number 10 role and given the freedom to roam the final third of the field.
Remember, their back four are well drilled as they have been playing together unabated over a year for Zamalek. Their inter-positional play is like a systematically rehearsed symphony. It is extremely difficult trying to break their impregnable wall.
The defensive pair of John Boye and Jonathan Mensah should not lose focus for a moment as the barrage of attacks will be unrelenting.
Wakaso and Afriyie Acquah should be stationed in the middle of the park. Failure to do that will stymie our forward march.
Finally, The Black Stars would be ill-adviced to passing the ball into the net. Shooting from outside the box should not be the preserve of Wakaso only.
The destiny of qualifying Ghana for Russia 2018 is in the hands of our players and that dream must not suffer death this early. Ghanaians and football fans need to enjoy the agoro soccer from Ghana again at the World Cup. Need I say anything more?
By: Samuel Owusu-Ansah