Feature: Ghana needed World Cup miss to get better

Published on: 17 October 2017

Perhaps the shameful ending to Ghana’s campaign at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was a way of alerting what was to follow in the future. Forget the flash in the pan performance at the 2015 African Nations Cup where the team barely impressed but got a few lucky bounces go its way to the final game like playing against a weak host nation in the semis.

The true state of the team played out in this year’s edition of the tournament and the next World Cup qualifiers where disappointment was synonymous in both campaigns with Ghana bottoming out after a mundane fourth place finish and exit from qualifiers.

The Black Stars game against Saudi Arabia went largely unnoticed by many in the country; after failing to stay in the running for a fourth World Cup appearance, few cared about a friendly game against Saudi Arabia. Playing a shoe in participant in Russia is never a bad thing to do but playing the game under circumstances which suggest financial profiteering more than anything, is hard to get the public involved.

Questionable administrative flaws from the GFA in recent years have cast a bad light on the association so much so the friendly tie which was a great platform for the nation’s next generation of talent, was maligned. The 3-0 win in the contest was hardly surprising but the objective of making a statement with largely unknowns is the diamond in the rough.

For long stretches in between the team’s highs of a last gasp miss in the 2010 quarter finals and the 2015 Afcon Final game, Ghana lost the plot and has paid dearly for it. Quite simply, the Black Stars needed a jolt in its system to recover from the coma it had fallen into; the jolt came just in time to prevent another World stage debacle from unfolding. But where did Ghana go wrong?

Team got sloppy

Another way to frame the Black Stars campaign is careless and while a fair bit of criticism should be leveled against the playing body, major blame should be placed at the doorsteps of the team’s top officials.

In the opening World Cup qualifier against Uganda, the team had little time to prepare on the Tamale Stadium pitch and adapt to the dry weather conditions in Ghana’s Northern regional hub. Had a big part of the team being based locally, this issue won’t be a problem but almost the entire group is based in countries with far less harsh weather.

The draw against Uganda attracted the ire of former Coach Avram Grant who blamed the pitch for the Stars poor showing. Had FA Bosses pulled out of an agreement to play a friendly game against South Africa a few days after the qualifier, the Stars would have more time to prep for the Cranes.

Thinking Uganda was an easy side to beat, officials didn’t give enough thought to moving the game forward to honor a mere friendly.

Team got complacent

As much as the team officials goofed in arranging games, the playing body has to take blame for poor play throughout the campaign against lesser fancied teams. Members of the team failed to pull out of bad runs in the campaign where poor performances had the Black Stars fail to win games matches against Uganda and Congo.

The unnecessary friendly could be blamed for the stalemate with Uganda in Tamale but meek performances against the Pharaohs and Congo could have resulted in a different outcome. However, several players lacked desire to get the team over the line for at least a win in one of the aforementioned games.

Team got predictable

Seeing Kwesi Appiah jump into the hot seat and immediately rope in new faces to the team is a refreshing experience after witnessing the stale period under Avram Grant. Trotting out the same players for almost every game, Ghana became predictable and easy to plot against as was the case with Uganda.

Former Cranes Coach Milutin Sredojevic provided the template to nullify the Stars after the game in Tamale and it proved to be the case as the Stars lost to Egypt in the next qualifier after little changed.

Almost by default, a lineup with Razak Braimah, Jonathan Mensah, Harrison Afful, Asamoah Gyan, Mubarak Wakaso and the Ayew Brothers filled places on the pitch every time barring injury.

Playing at the Mundial would not open the chance for such changes to be implemented in time but by missing the cut, Coach Kwesi Appiah has more time on his hands to continue his team’s makeover for a title run at the 2019 African Nations Cup.

By Yaw Adjei-Mintah, @YawMintYM 

 

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more