Ghana stars Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari dreaming of becoming the first Africans to beat England

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By Jonathan Birchall

28 Mar 2011 10:22:00

Asamoah Gyan, Ghana (Getty Images)

Asamoah Gyan, Ghana (Getty Images)

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Sunderland duo Asamoah Gyan and on-loan Sulley Muntari have backed Ghana to beat England when the sides meet at Wembley on Tuesday.

The Black Stars have never beaten the Three Lions but the Premier League pair feel that they can make history against Fabio Capello’s side by making the most of the party atmosphere in the national team squad.

Gyan, who has impressed since joining the Steve Bruce’s side last summer, has admitted that England are incredibly popular in his country but is certain that his infectious personality can help his side overcome their illustrious hosts.

Speaking to The Daily Mirror, he said: “No African side has ever beaten England so we will go there to try our luck. I have never played at Wembley so it is like a dream come true.

“This is a huge game for us Ghanians. There will be massive support for us – maybe up to 25,000 in the stadium cheering us.

“England have been our colonial masters so everyone in Ghana knows about them. If we are not playing England everyone supports them.

“I don’t like sadness when people are downhearted. I like to make people laugh, to boost their morale.

“I love doing that when I am with Ghana and I am trying to do that here as well.

“In the dressing room I think people like me, they think I am crazy. I think outside the field, I look crazy, I make people laugh and I am very funny. But on the pitch, I am very focused.

“Thats why people like me. I like to be crazy but when it comes to the important moments I am ready. I sing and dance all the time to make people laugh.”

Former Portsmouth midfielder Muntari has echoed Gyan’s sentiments and has insisted that the striker is the man to shoot England down.

He said: “It’s going to be the first time! It’s always great to make history.

“As a person, he’s a headache! As a footballer, he’s great, a wonderful player. He does things you can’t describe – that I love.

“The first time I saw him play was with Liberty, my ex-club in Ghana, and I fell in love with him. He was young, 14-15. He was just like he is now, very hyper.

“When we’re sat praying he’s the one who sings and we follow, he sings and jokes, that’s everything about him.

“He sings most of the time on the bus. We’ve been telling him to bring out a CD so it wasn’t a surprise he did.

“Most of the time Ghanaian players and people love a ­challenge and seeing this as one of the biggest games we’ve ever played we want to do well and show what we’re capable of. It promises to be an exciting game and I won’t go and say we’ll win it, because it won’t be easy.”

The 26-year-old, who is currently on-loan at the Stadium of Light from Inter, believes that his side’s team spirit can provide the required belief to secure a victory on England’s home turf.

“We did well at the World Cup as we had good unity, we were united as a group,” he continued. “It was difficult for someone to come from outside the group to create problems for us.

“When in our camp you didn’t see the top players acting big – every team has its top players but ours didn’t show themselves like that.

“In camp, we joke, we laugh and we sing and dance and pray every night. That gave us strength and belief in what we’re doing.

“Once we pray, we keep the enemies out of us, that’s the most important thing.

“Everyone is equal, there are no grudges. In every camp someone wouldn’t like me and I wouldn’t like someone else, but you don’t see it like that.

“We manage to keep it close. When we have a problem, we work it out, we keep it to ourselves.”

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Ghana stars Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari dreaming of becoming the first Africans to beat England