The headline looks absurd at this point in Ghana’s qualification campaign particularly after the disappointing draw with Congo in Kumasi a few days ago.
There is realistically no chance for the Black Stars to join the growing party in Russia since Uganda and Egypt occupy the envious spots in Ghana’s group.
Despite the appalling display on Friday, the Black Stars are on a path to redemption to rescue the sinking qualification ship and find a way back into the deep valves of Ghanaian hearts.
Count how many times the team has been written off only to prove critics other wise and how many times have they disappointed when expected to grab important results? On the surface, the Stars unpredictability gives them a shot heading to this afternoon’s tie against Congo in Brazzaville.
On a more serious note, the Stars chances of beating Congo have been given a huge boost due to the absence of hitherto key performers in the team.
As strange as it might sound, the loss of Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew and Captain Asamoah Gyan is a blessing for the team. The direct reason behind the above mentioned statement has to do with the performance of the long tenured trio in recent months.
None has been close to what he has been in prior years and in an ideal situation should have been yanked from the team a while ago. Gyan rightly summed up the feeling emanating from the group opining the team lacked desire in the aftermath of the draw against Congo in the first leg.
While the fire in the belly of some players is missing, others like Ebenezer Ofori, Thomas Adjapong and Thomas Partey is yearning to incinerate everything in its path. Dating back to 2010, Ghana has witnessed a spike in output when neophytes are introduced to the Black Stars beginning with the outstanding performance at the African Nations Championship in Angola. Left for dead by the absences of top players like Michael Essien and John Mensah, the Stars missed out on a fifth continental title courtesy a Mohammed Gedo late strike. A younger Gyan led an even younger team to the final game. Andre Ayew was part of that team but has failed to live up to such levels for a while including Friday’s horrific performance.
As a unit, the Stars underperformed but the attack especially, was woeful. With the exception of Christian Atsu, the Ayews and Gyan played poorly and failed to finish off the few chances the team managed to create. Due to physical ailments, Gyan and the Ayew brothers will not be around opening up spaces for Richmond Boakye-Yiadom, Edwin Gyasi and Adjapong to start against Congo.
All three players look in good stead to make a better impression this afternoon than majority of Ghana’s starting lineup on Friday. Adjapong for instance, made more inroads in his limited time on the pitch than the man he replaced-the older Ayew.
While his end product left much to be desired, a promotion to the starting lineup bolsters the attack against a physical Congolese defense.
Gyan’s perseverance to play while not fully fit is admirable but his flawed body never stood a chance against the bruising Red Devils backline. Boakye-Yiadom’s super form for Red Star Belgrade gives the Stars a potent target man with ample support from Gyasi should Kwesi Appiah stick with his two man attack system. Conflicting reports on Harrison Afful’s availability for the game means the Columbus Crew defender’s status will be decided when the team list is announced mere minutes away.
Should he not feature in the game, Appiah can play Jonathan Mensah, Daniel Amartey and Attamah Laweh in a three man backline opening up spots for his team’s stacked midfield to feature prominently. The likes of Lumor Agbeyenu and Jeffrey Schlupp can play as wing backs giving the team width and pace to deal the speedy Thievy Bifouma-led attack.
This is a daring move since the team simply cannot lose today’s game and the bad history Kwesi Appiah has with this formation dating back to the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.
At first glance, Ghana’s chances of coming out of this tie with at least point are a farfetched notion given quality and experience of absentees.
However, the gaps left behind opens up a whole new set of options Coach Kwesi Appiah can utilize to save his reputation on his return.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter