10 Things To Know About Ghana

The quarter-finals are nigh!

And in preparation for them, I’m previewing teams, starting with Ghana, who eliminated USA for the second World Cup in a row.

Here are 10 more things you might want to know about Ghana:

They're the Last African Team Left

Of the tournament’s 32 entries, six of them were African, and Ghana is the only one left.

This means the entire continent will be cheering them on as well as others, like myself, who feel that a good finish by Ghana would go a long way towards making the first African World Cup an even greater success than it’s already been.

This also gives them that magical intangible known as home field advantage.

World Cup History

This is only the second time that Ghana has even made it to the World Cup Finals.

Their only other appearance was 2006, when they beat the USA for a spot in the Round of 16, then promptly lost to Brazil (3-0).

This time they beat USA in the Round of 16 to advance to the quarter-finals, becoming only the third African nation to ever reach the final eight.

In other words, Ghana has never failed to get out of their group and this has been their best World Cup ever.

2010 World Cup Qualifying

Ghana only lost one match during World Cup qualifying and finished at the top of Group D, which also earned them a place in the 2010 African Cup of Nations, where they finished as runners-up to Egypt.

Performance in South Africa

Ghana has two wins (Serbia, USA), one draw (Australia), and one loss (Germany) so far in the 2010 World Cup.

Key Players

Michael Essien is their star player and captain. He was ruled out of the World Cup in May due to a knee injury, but the Black Stars have managed to get along just fine without him.

Striker Asamoah Gyan scored the winner against Serbia and the equalizer against Australia, both from the penalty spot. He also fired the rocket that destroyed USA’s World Cup dreams in extra time.

Kevin-Prince Boateng, who scored the opening goal against the United States, and Stephen Appiah, nicknamed “The Tornado” for his blazing speed, have been an integral part of the Black Stars’ squad as well.

Strengths

Ghana's strength is a solid back line, with Issac Vorsah the anchor in central defense. He’ll likely partner with David Addy due to the suspension of Jonathan Mensah.

Mensah picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against the USA and must therefore watch the Black Stars’ quarter-final match from the stands.

Weaknesses

The Achilles heel in an otherwise solid squad is an inability to score goals.

Ghana scored just four goals in five games at the African Cup of Nations back in January.

In South Africa, they failed to score in open play (i.e. both of their goals came from the penalty spot) during the group stage, although they put two past the United States in the Round of 16.

However, it should also be noted that USA’s defense is weak, and top teams will not make the kinds of elementary mistakes that allowed Ghana to score both goals against the Yanks—especially Uruguay, who has conceded only one goal in the entire 2010 World Cup.

Other Factors to Consider

Injuries and suspensions may ultimately prove to be Ghana’s undoing.

Kevin-Prince Boateng aggravated a hamstring problem he had prior to the USA match, where he terrorized the Yanks to no end. Asamoah Gyan is also a "maybe" due to an ankle injury he picked up during training.

As noted, Jonathan Mensah will be suspended, but he is struggling with a back injury on top of it.

Midfielder Andre Ayew, who has been an ever-present in South Africa, will also miss the Ghana’s next match due to yellow card accumulation.

Style of Play

The Black Stars are a fast team who control and pass the ball well, but their finishing leaves a lot to be desired. Although they have struggled to score goals, it’s not for a lack of effort. Ghana likes to shoot.

They took 16 shots against the U.S. and 22 against Australia, but only hit the target a total of 12 times in those 38 attempts (less than a third).

They are also pretty good at diving, as evidenced by their match against the Untied States.

In what was obviously an effort to waste time, Samuel Inkoom was carried off of the pitch on a stretcher. As soon as he reached the sideline, hopped off onto his feet and reentered the match a minute later.

Next Match

Ghana’s quarter-final match against Uruguay kicks off on Friday, July 2nd at 2:30 p.m. EST at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa.

American viewers can catch the English language telecast on ESPN, ESPN 3D, and ESPN Mobile TV; or one in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and Univision.

You can also tune in online at ESPN3.com and Univision.com.

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