Ghana v Egypt World Cup 2014 Qualifier Preview by Frederick Quaye

Ghana v Egypt World Cup 2014 Qualifier Preview by Frederick Quaye on Oct 14, 2013

When the Pharaohs trot into the Baba Yara Stadium tomorrow against the Black Stars of Ghana in a 2014 World Cup playoff 1^ST leg qualifier, they will be seeking to achieve two things.

One, and the most important is to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and then second, to erase the 5-1 mammoth  defeat handed down by Kotoko to Zamalek in 1987 on that same grassy pitch. To achieve the second one, they must also fulfill the first.

Going into that match, Kumasi Asante Kotoko were trailing by a 2-0 deficit from the first leg played in Egypt. A few minutes into that match, Zamalek struck what many thought was the death blow when a seemingly easy ball slipped the grasp of goalie Mohammed Odoom for the first goal.

What happened within the hour afterward is the stuff legends are built on. Before half time Kotoko were up 3-1 and by the 84^th, Saraah Mensah had manufactured the icing on the cake just after Sarfo Gyamfi’s long ranger.

As the Black Stars attempt to qualify for their third consecutive World Cup, they will come out with that same legendary stuff that Kotoko produced on that day some 26 years ago and their recent 3-0 drubbing of the Egyptians to destroy the 100 percent record of the Pharaohs in the World Cup qualifiers so far.

The Black Stars have in the last World Cup also defeated Bob Bradley’s USA for a quarter final spot and that same manager is behind Egypt now, seeking revenge. Will he able to achieve it in Kumasi? I very much doubt it.

Why do I say that? It is simply because the Black Stars defense which needed a tweaking ahead of this match to cater for the unexpected injuries to three defenders would still hold against any Egyptian onslaught. Toss in  the baying fans in an overflow cavern of a stadium, clad in  fervent and giddy red, gold and green, and any footballer who enters that atmosphere will invariably give way to quaky knees.

Mohammed Awal, Edwin Gyimah and Rachid Sumaila who have been drafted in to replace regular defenders John Boye, Jonathan Mensah and Isaac Vorsah have been playing understudy for some time and they have already played in international matches so they are not going to be awed by the occasion.

In fact, Kwasi Appiah, himself an ‘untested’ left back when he famously excelled and tamed the fearsome Zairean winger,Mayele  Ayele in 1982 ,prior to Ghana’s qualification to Africa Cup Of Nations  in Libya, has the experience firsthand to take out the Egyptians in Kumasi.

” 'I have never relied on one particular player, I always believe that as a team you prepare and make sure you have very good substitutes so that when you have issues of players getting injury you can replace them,'' he told Joy sports

''And if other players had not been given the opportunity and used, it would have been very difficult at this moment. Fortunately for us, we have a very strong group that we can always depend on.''

Bob Bradley, a former U.S manager whose team fell against Ghana at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, warns that the man to watch is the Black Stars captain, Asamoah Gyan. “Gyan is a difficult player because he can be invisible for long periods in a match…So we will try and keep him out of our dangerous areas but I know it will be difficult…”

However, Bradley also says that they will play intelligently Gedo, Aboutrika and co will find the going very tough tomorrow because they will run into a team that will ask no quarters and leave no quarters on the field. In the words of Andre Ayew,” hopefully on Tuesday we will have a great game and we will win massively.”

The mix of experience and youth might just be what Egypt needs on the night however whether Wael Gomaa, Mohammed Aboutrika and the young striker Mohammed Salah are able to achieve their two goals   will be seen on Tuesday.Remember that Zamalek thought they had it all sewn up in 1987 and their team which dominated by Al-Ahly and Zamalek players will be in for a similar shock to what happened in Kumasi a quarter century ago.