It is not very easy to project what Ghana will be able to do at the 2022 World Cup. With what identity will you present yourself? Will it be the team that lost to the Comoros Islands in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) earlier this year? Or the team that managed to eliminate Nigeria in the two-legged play-off in the African qualifiers? Will it be the team that managed to pass the group stage in the first two World Cups (2006 and 2010) that you played? Or the one that was consumed by infighting in 2014?
Portugal's first opponent at the 2022 World Cup (on the 24th of November) still seems to be a " work in progress ". After his failure in the last CAN, Serbian Milovan Rajevac was sacked and his place was replaced by Otto Addo, a former German-born Ghanaian international whose biggest calling card as a coach was four years as an assistant at two Bundesliga clubs – two in Borussia Moenchengladbach and two at Borussia Dortmund.
The truth is that, even without any experience as a head coach, he managed to qualify Ghana for its fourth world championship, but still has interim status. And his continuity in office is not certain. “My contract was for the two games with Nigeria. I would like to continue and go to the World Cup”, said a few days ago Addo, who was at the 2006 World Cup as a player.
Who will be on the bench is not the only uncertainty in this Ghanaian team that currently occupies the 60th place in the FIFA rankings. The Ghanaian federation is trying to attract to its squad two young English internationals who can make a difference, especially one. Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is already an A cap for England but, under FIFA rules, can change his football nationality to his father's country – and is, according to the British press, considering that possibility. Brighton full-back Tariq Lamptey is another Premier League young English international who is considering joining Ghana.
Recognizable names in this Ghanaian squad are not many, at least not at the level of Asamoah Gyan or Kevin-Prince Boateng or Michael Essien. Brothers Andre and Jordan Ayew are still there for the attack, Thomas Partey, from Arsenal, will be in charge from the midfield, with the company of another player with Premier League experience, Daniel Amartey (Leicester City). There will be an expectation to see what the young Felix Afena-Gyan can do, who is having opportunities at José Mourinho's Roma, or Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, who will only be able to play for Sporting from next season, but who already has four caps. by your country. Abdul Mumin, center of Vitória de Guimarães, has also been called up but hasn't made his debut yet.
Not to change the feeling of “ deja vu ” of this Group H, Ghana has already faced Portugal in a previous edition of the World Cup. It was in 2014, in a game in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 81st minute the winning goal for the team then coached by Paulo Bento, insufficient to reach the round of 16.
Source: Marco Vaza - Portuguese football journalist who writes for Público