Road to Rio: Hurt still lingers for Ghana

John Molinaro December 1, 2013, 5:23 PM

Dignitaries from all over the world will gather in Brazil in early December for the FIFA World Cup draw as the field of teams is divided into groups for next summer’s festivities. As part of its “32 teams in 32 days” series, sportsnet.ca will profile each of the nations set to compete at Brazil, leading up to the draw on Dec. 6.

Spare a thought for Asamoah Gyan. The Ghanaian forward was in fine form at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, scoring a late winner against Serbia in the Black Stars’ opening group stage match, followed by an injury-time strike that propelled his team to a win over the United States in the round of 16. So when Luis Suarez intentionally handled the ball inside his penalty area to prevent a goal deep into injury time in the quarter-finals, Gyan naturally stepped up to the spot. But his attempt hit the crossbar and despite converting later in the penalty shootout, Uruguay won. Ghana would have been the first African nation to qualify for the semifinals in World Cup history if only Gyan put away his chance. Four years later, Gyan and Ghana return to the World Cup, looking to go one step further.

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How they got here: Quite comfortably, actually. They won their second round group, which included lightweights Lesotho and Sudan, by four points over 2012 African Cup of Nations winners Zambia, winning five of six games (with only one loss), outscoring the opposition 18-3 along the way. Ghana then faced a daunting Egypt side, one of the traditional powers of African soccer, in what on paper appeared to be challenging home-and-home playoff series. But the Black Stars embarrassed Egypt, seven-time African champions, by a whopping 7-3 aggregate score line to book their place in next year’s tournament.

Key match: A strong argument can be made that the African playoffs are far more gruelling and tougher than the European playoffs, as they bring together the continent’s absolute best nations. All five African playoff series offered up marquee matchups, but Ghana versus Egypt looked to be the pick of the bunch. And then Ghana destroyed Egypt 6-1 at home in the opening leg on Oct. 15, 2013, in a result that nobody saw coming. With a World Cup berth virtually assured, the Black Stars travelled to Egypt the following month looking only to protect their aggregate lead and run out the clock, which they duly did in a 2-1 loss.

Star player: He no longer plays at the highest club level after leaving Sunderland for Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, but striker Gyan is still invaluable to his country. The former Black Cats star scored six goals in the second round group stage of the African qualifiers, and two more in the playoffs, including the opener against Egypt that sent Ghana on its way to earning a historic 6-1 win. Powerful and quick, Gyan has 39 goals for his country, one short of tying the national team record, and as Ghana’s captain he’ll be looking to make amends in Brazil after missing a crucial penalty against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup that could have sent the Black Stars through to the semifinals.

Player on the bubble: It’s been quite the year for Richmond Boakye. The 20-year-old striker scored 11 goals in Serie B during the 2012-13 campaign to help Sassuolo gain promotion to Italy’s topflight for the first time. He followed that up by scoring two goals at this past summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey as Ghana finished in third place. Currently on loan at Spanish side Elche from Juventus, Boakye is in a bit of a fight to earn a spot on Ghana’s senior team roster for the World Cup—he’s only earned seven caps, with his last appearance coming in June. Notably, he wasn’t called in for duty against Egypt, suggesting he has some work to do in order to convince coach Akwasi Appiah that he deserves to go to Brazil.

Team strengths: With a midfield core that includes Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari, Kwadwo Asamoah and Michael Essien, Ghana certainly isn’t lacking power and strength in midfield. Defensive midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu is no soft touch either. It’s hard to imagine any opposing team being able to physically dominate Ghana, but the midfield also possesses genuine attacking quality. Boateng is a gifted attacker who makes penetrating runs, Essien and Muntari are accomplished distributors and can shoot from range, while Asamoah offers attacking width.

Team weaknesses: With 39 goals in 77 appearances, Gyan is clearly his side’s best forward, and it’s a added bonus that he serves as Ghana’s captain. But he’s really the only serious scoring front up front that Ghana has, aside from Boateng, who can also fill in at the forward position. The rest of Ghana’s striker options leave a lot to be desired, with none of them coming close to matching Gyan’s scoring record or his ability to unlock defences. If opponent’s shut down Gyan, Ghana is going to have a hard time scoring.

World Cup record:
1930 to 1958—Did not enter
1962—Did not qualify
1966— Did not enter
1970 to 1978—Did not qualify
1982—Did not enter
1986 to 2002—Did not qualify
2006—Second round
2010—Quarter-finals