Albert Adomah can this week take a major step towards making his World Cup dream come true.
Bristol City’s winger has taken time out from battling relegation in the Championship to help his beloved Ghana in their quest to qualify for the 2014 finals in Brazil.
Adomah flew into Accra on Monday and yesterday joined the Black Stars squad for training ahead of Sunday's crucial World Cup African Group D match against Sudan at the Baba Yare Stadium in Kumasi.
Victory over their nearest rivals in the group will further enhance Ghana’s chances of progressing to the finals in South America.
And having played a starring role in his country's march to the semi-finals of the African Nations Cup earlier this year, Adomah is determined to tread the boards in football’s greatest show on earth.
"Playing in the African Nations was one thing, but qualifying for the World Cup is a mission for me," Adomah told The Post.
"If you are a footballer, you want to play with the best players and test yourself against the best teams in the world."
He added, tongue on cheek: "I'd love to be out there on that stage, playing alongside the best players. That will mean I can classify myself as one of the best players!"
One of only two English-based players in coach Kwesi Appiah's 24-man squad – Fulham’s Emmanuel Frimpong is the other – Adomah has a good chance of making the starting line-up against the Sudanese after impressing at the African Cup of Nations in South Africa in January and February.
Previously a fringe player for the national team, the former Barnet winger started four games in the tournament, including the quarter-final and third place play-off.
He said: "It felt really good to be involved in the African Nations Cup to the extent I was.
"I’d always been on the fringes until then and, even after I got the call-up, I still didn’t expect to start the first couple of games.
"For the manager to have faith in me and to play me in the first four games was really good. It means I now feel as though I’m a part of the set-up.
"It's better than the year before when I would be on standby and was never quite sure whether or not I'd make the squad."
Currently second in their qualifying group, Ghana will assume pole position if they win on Sunday and Adomah makes no attempt to play down the significance of the tie.
He admitted: "It's a really important game because we are second at the moment and, if we win, we can go top," explained Adomah.
"If we can get our noses in front and maintain our form, we will have a great chance of going all the way to Brazil next year."
Source: thisisbritstol.co.uk