England have never lost to African opposition but countless Ghanaians will tell you that this is because they’ve never played the Black Stars.
Already confident, fans of last year’s World Cup quarter-finalists will be even more so after the withdrawal of a high-quality chunk of England’s first team – Terry, Cole, Lampard, Rooney and Dawson – and the pledge to field a different XI to the one that beat Wales.
Although England’s lack of respect for the fixture has left a sour taste for some Ghanaians, it will make no difference to players who are treating this game as a cup final.
Their real concern is its timing, coming 48 hours after Ghana’s 3-0 win in Congo as the Group I leaders stayed on course for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations – thanks to goals from strikers Prince Tagoe, Dominic Adiyiah and Sulley Muntari.
There had been fears, especially from coach Goran Stevanovic, that the excitement of the England friendly would disrupt preparations for Congo, which Ghana left on Sunday night to fly overnight via Kenya to London.
In the absence of Essien, at least one current Black Star, Sunderland’s Sulley Muntari, knows what it’s like to triumph at Wembley, having won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008
But the reason the Ghanaian Football Association (GFA) accepted the fatigue-inducing schedule is the overwhelming delight and pride that the Black Stars have finally been handed an opportunity to play the country that taught them the game.
In fact, they’ve been waiting for this match for years – primarily because it pits Ghanaians against the country that colonised them although, more recently, it’s also because the Premier League has become so enormously popular in the former Gold Coast.
And the West Africans aren’t letting the occasion go to waste.
With strong links between the countries and a sizeable expat population in the UK, Ghana are bringing a record 20,000 fans to the ‘new’ Wembley, including the chairmen of all the country’s league clubs.
Although poor in one sense, the timing of the match is perfect in another given that the Black Stars will step out at Wembley with considerable confidence given their exploits of recent years.
Until the mid-noughties, they were largely living on former glories – the last of four African titles having come way back in 1982 – but the arrival of coach Ratomir Dujkovic seven years ago changed that.
The Serb swiftly amended history, qualifying Ghana for their first World Cup where they then reached the second round at the first attempt.
Two years later, under another Serb, Milovan Rajevac, the Ghanaians reached their first Nations Cup final in 28 years despite missing injured Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, John Mensah, John Paintsil and Muntari (the latter dropped for indiscipline).
Five months later, the Black Stars came closer than any African side to the World Cup semi-finals, denied by an infamous handball and a wayward penalty that broke the continent’s heart.
As with the Senegalese in 2002, the World Cup made Ghanaian footballers highly-prized – with top scorer Asamoah Gyan moving to Sunderland, Kevin-Prince Boateng joining AC Milan, Dede Ayew joining Marseille and, among other moves, Anthony Annan leaving Norway for Schalke.
And though much of the World Cup side is intact, there are some changes.
In defence, Paintsil, Sunderland’s John Mensah and the indispensable Isaac Vorsah (of Hoffenheim) have a new man at left back, with Portugal-based David Addy having replaced Hans Adu Sarpei.
The competition for midfield places is intense as the highly-rated Ayew, Muntari and playmaker Kojo Asamoah (pulling the strings for fourth-placed Udinese in Serie A) fight for a spot alongside the diminutive Annan, Agyemang Badu (also of Udinese) and Boateng, who misses Tuesday’s game with injury.
Up front, Gyan – suspended for the Congo game but who still joined up with the squad (having, admirably, flown at his own expense) – will return to partner in-form Tagoe, whose Partizan Belgrade comrade Adiyiah is likely to start on the bench.
There is of course one big name wholly conspicuous by its absence – Essien.
After suffering two significant injuries while on Ghana duty (with a knee injury picked up at the 2010 Nations Cup ruling him out of the World Cup), the Chelsea star is on a self-imposed break from international football.
This is to get his club career back on track and although he’s not quite the force he once was, his value is still enormous – with the Blues having failed to win a Premier League match without him this season.
Contrary to what you may think, Essien is not hugely popular in his homeland where many fans believe he sees playing for the national team as coming second to his club but Stefanovic is certain he’ll back for next year’s Nations Cup.
“To win the Nations Cup, I need players who know what winning is like – like Essien and Champions League winner Muntari,” he says. “In the next one to two years, Ghana will be one of best teams in the world.”
At youth level, they already are – becoming, in 2009, the first Africans to win the under-20 World Cup, spanking none other than England 4-0 in the group stages.
Though even the most optimistic Ghanaians aren’t expecting that scoreline, many are awaiting the same result.
Read more from the original source:
Ghana thrilled by England fixture