Sports
We don’t need unfit players at the World Cup!
Otto Addo – Ghana coach
It is exactly eight days left to the start of the 2022 Qatar World Cup tournament.
And, for many Ghanaians, the Black Stars would have to show up and be counted – exorcising the demons that haunted them at the 2018 Mundial in Brazil which saw the team crash out in the opening round.
The worry of the fans, however, is the kind of team that Ghana is showcasing for the one-month quadrennial festival, in view of rumours making the rounds that a decent number of the players are concealing their injuries to be able to make the final cut. This is not strange at all.
Indeed, we have a disturbing history of sending injured players to tournaments, hoping that they would recover early enough for games. Ridiculous, right?
In the last African Cup of Nations held in Cameroon in January this year, Mohammed Kudus was named in the Ghana squad, even though he was recuperating from a rib injury that had seen him out of action since November 2021.
Similarly, Mubarak Wakaso
was recovering from injury and looked all-too unfit for that tournament, yet, found himself in the final cut for the biennial contest.
Any surprise that the Black Stars were flushed out of the campaign in the first round, losing even to Comoros 3-2 in the final Group C game?
It is believed that the likes of Freiburg midfielder Daniel Kofi Kyere – who missed his side’s Bundesliga win over Cologne at the weekend and Tariq Lamptey – an unused substitute in Brighton win at Wolves, are all not fit enough. Kamaldeeen Sulemana also missed Rennes clash against Lille due to injury. Bristol City forward Antoine Semenyo is believed to be unfit.
As a matter of fact, Ghana’s medical team must be facing an integrity crisis with the number of players believed to be carrying injuries named in the provisional 55-man squad announced by the Ghana FA last Friday.
The work of Dr Prince Pambo, the new Black Stars’ Team Doctor, is now well cut out – and would attract the cynosure of thousands of eyes, as Ghana names its final 26-man squad for Qatar.
Dr Pambo is known to be a no-nonsense personality in this regard and would be expected not to play to the gallery.
Perhaps, by the time this piece comes out, Ghana may have unveiled their final set of players for the Qatar mission.
It does not, however, negate the fact that Ghana needs a formidable, loyal, fit and determined band of players to represent the nation. We need a team of players whose performance can carve out victories. We need players who are prepared to die for the shirt, anytime – and grind the result in the midst of very Herculean challenges.
That the Stars have won just two of their 12 matches this year, is a biting concern. Ghana were held to a 1-1 draw by the Central African Republic, ranked 132 in the world by FIFA, in their first AFCON qualifier in June, before being thrashed 4-1 by Japan and drawing 0-0 with Chile in the Kirin Cup tournament in June. The team also slumped 0-3 to Brazil and managed a slim 1-0 win over Nicaragua in the international friendly double-header in September.
Ghana meet Switzerland on November 17, three days before the World Cup commences and the Stars’ performance in that game should give us a hint as to what form they are carrying to the tournament.
The four-time African champions will battle old foes Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
