Former Ghana FA Vice president Fred Pappoe has shared memories of Ghana’s debut appearance at the 2006 World Cup.
That tournament was Ghana's first appearance at the world's biggest stage. The Black Stars were paired alongside Italy, Czech Republic and the USA in Group E.
Ghana began their campaign against European giants Italy on 12 June 2006 with the game played at the Hannover Stadium.
Fred Pappoe who led the management team to the tournament shared some experiences and memories o on what transpired leading to the big opening game against Italy.
He stated that preparation for the tournament had started in 2004 during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers which Ghana topped the group ahead of South Africa.
“From the friendly games we played against Turkey, Jamaica and others you could see the team was ready for the tournament. Going into the tournament we were afraid of the Czechs, not the Italians because we had about four of our players playing actively in the Italian league”, he told Happy FM.
“Heading into our first game, the players were very confident but there was some tension and nervousness since it was our first game. We were able to match the Italians boot for boot we were just unlucky to have lost”.
He further said the Black Stars received massive support from the community they camped despite the defeat to Italy which inspired them to win their subsequent games against the Czech Republic and the USA.
Ghana made it into the Round of 16 in their first appearance before losing out to Brazil at the Round of 16 stage.