FIFA 2010 World Cup : Ghana Vs Uruguay reasons why Ghana can defeat Uruguay for Semi finals spot
The 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup was the first one to be held on African soil. A total of 6 African teams entered in the tournament, but unfortunately, only one qualified for the Round of 16.
The home ground advantage: Ghana, being that team, bears the expectations of the entire African continent. Success into the next round would make this tournament even more over whelming than it already is. Ghana may also enjoy the intangible but extremely effective home field advantage, as almost all of Africa would be cheering for the black stars. Ghana would be expected to play at their best, and the home crowd would roar the Black Stars to an expected victory.
World Cup History: Ghana defeated USA, 2 World Cups in a row. This is an impressive record, provided that this is the second time they even made it to the World Cup finals. Both the times, they defeated USA in the Round of 16, which is remarkable. Look at it this way, Ghana has never crashed out of the Group stage, and have always reached the quarter finals. Given the tournament is in their continent, Ghana stand a strong chance to create an upset.
World Cup Qualifying: Ghana has only lost one match in their journey to the World Cup finals, and finished top of the Group D. This in turn earned them a spot in the African Cup of Nations, where they were runner ups to Egypt.
Performance in 2010 World Cup: Ghana has recorded two wins over Serbia and USA. It drew one against Australia and lost one to heavy weights Germany. This is impressive comparing to last World Cup finalists, Italy and France, who failed to win a single match.
Important Players: Chelsea star Michael Essien is Ghana’s captain and star player. He was however ruled out of the World cup owing to a prolonged injury. Ghana would be happy however, as they have managed well without the midfielder. Their striker Asamoah Gyan, has scored three times already in the tournament, and is expected to keep on going. He scored a truly remarkable goal against the USA, which put an end to the American world cup dream. He is strong, fast and enjoys a remarkable finish. Kevin-Prince Boateng is another key player, who scored the opener against the USA. Stephen Appiah, nicknamed “The Tornado” has also been impressive in the tournament, and is well known for his blazing speed, making him an integral part of Ghana’s World Cup adventure.
Strengths: Ghana enjoys a solid and effective defence line, with Issac Vorsah being the mainstay in defence. He would however have manage without first choice, Mensah, who picked up a second yellow card against the USA, and must cheer his team from the stands. David Addy is most likely to partner Vorsah in defence.
Weaknesses: Ghana’s weakness lies in their inability to score. Having scored only four goals in five matches in the African Cup of Nation, the Black Stars failed to impress in their attack. In South Africa, they scored twice from the penalty spot in the Group stages, and scored their first goal in open play against USA. It must be noted that USA didn’t have the strongest of defence, and made basic mistakes which led the Black Stars to capitalize. They meet a strong Uruguayan side, who has conceded just once in their four matches so far.
Other Factors: Ghana’s main hurdle may be because of their own doings. Injuries and suspensions are the major concerns. Kevin-Prince Boateng may have provoked a hamstring problem he had prior to the USA clash. He looked lethal against the Yanks, and tormented them at will. Gyan is also a “50-50” owing to an ankle injury he picked up during training. Mensah, who is suspended for the quarter final, is also dressing a back injury, which doesn’t look so good. Their midfielder, Andre Ayew is also set to miss the clash owing to suspension.
Playing Style: Speed, superior ball control and effective passing are the key elements of Ghana’s style of play. Their finishing ability has raised some eye brows, but they have made a lot of effort. They love to shoot. A total of 16 shots were taken against the USA and 22 shots were taken against Australia. Their on target shots were however disappointing, being approximately 1/3rd of the total. They have also been seen to be good at diving, evident from their match against the USA. They tried everything to waste time against USA after taking the lead in extra time.
Ghana plays Uruguay in their quarter final bout, and would give their all to book a place in the semi final. They will feed from the energy the home crowd will provide them, and may well be inspiration they need to overcome the two time World Champions.
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