Ghana Vow to Give Aussies tough time in World Cup

The Royal Bakokeng stadium in Rustenburg is will be roaring with the vuvuzelas when Ghana takes on Australia in the game on Saturday. Ghana is a physically strong team who won against Serbia -1-0. From what we see though this FIFA World Cup 2010 is full of surprises, especially when we seen how Serbia walked all over Germany yesterday and clearly was on top of the game right from the start. We did really think that the Germans would give Serbia a tough game but it turned out to be the other way round. So we are not really putting up huge hopes, because we all know that this World Cup could be a welcome change.

Ghana though is all ready to take on the Australians who lost 0-4 to Germany in their opening match. They have vowed themselves to shatter the Aussies completely and make them dream back their dream of taking on the World Cup or even making it to the top 16 squad. Ghana plan to take on Australia by surprise taking to their advantage their lack of knowledge on the Socceroos and lack of pace which is exactly why Germany lost yesterdays game.

It seems like Group D would have two majors playing in group D and that is Germany and Ghana, and if Ghana win today they can seal their spot there. This only after Ghana defeats Australia though, which could seem a bit tough since the Aussies meet Germany in their first game itself much to their bad luck and that too on a huge FIFA World Cup night which is good enough for anyone to have rattling nerves. Ghana’s midfielder will be playing the game today after his injury enforced absence.

Australia on the other had will be without their goalscoring midfielder Tim Cahill since he’s been suspended and they will surely feel his loss on their side. The Aussies however have made up their minds to bounce back after their bad streak with Germany and how to qualify for the next round.

Some trivia – Ghana and Australia have met 6 times where Australia won 4 games while Ghana won just 1. On whose side the clock tips are yet to be seen today.

Ghana vs Australia in World Cup 2010

 

Ghana had a breeze on its way into the qualifiers, moving ahead through the competition without many problems on the way to sealing a second consecutive World Cup 2010 berth. The Black Stars fought through the fire with Gabon and Libya in round two of the African qualifiers. All three teams tied up for top spot in their group with 12 points, but Ghana took the lead by virtue of its goal difference ratio. The final round was easier for Ghana, it beat out Benin, Mali and Sudan to win its group with ease and confirm a World Cup spot with two more games to go. Their key to qualification is a strong defense. The Ghanaians certainly can defend. This is something they proved in the qualifiers when they just let six goals in 11 games.

John Mensah is a defender who is most unheralded in the game today and he helps to make Ghana a defensive force. The result is a 2-0 win over Sudan last 6 September 2009 in Accra that managed to clinch a World Cup spot for Ghana. But it was a vital 2-0 road victory versus Mali on 7 June 2009 in Bamako that put the Black Stars in control of the group they are in and sent them to the path of qualification. Their star players are Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien who get most of the attention, but Eric Addo lends courage to the team as a physical defensive midfielder, who also play centre back position. Their potential problem is the need for more offensive production from its forwards and attacking midfielders. The Black Stars got 20 goals in 12 qualifying games. At the end, they need more score.

Australia was the leading force in the Asian qualifiers; they won nine out of winning nine and losing two out of 14 games, leaving their opponents by the tune of 19-4 margin along the way. The Socceroos opened the gates, making an impressive 3-0 victory over Qatar in its first game of the third round of the qualifiers on its way to first place in a difficult group that is also known as the Group of Death that also included China and Iraq. The final qualifying round proved to be very easy, as the Socceroos did not loose any game, six wins and two draws. Their key to qualification is also defense. Australia gave just one goal in the final qualifying round, thanks mainly to the outstanding form of Mark Schwarzer the goalkeeper and a sturdy back line headed by Lucas Neill an Everton centre back. Their star player is Schwarzer who played the entire eight matches in the final round of the Asian qualifiers that allowed only one goal against Japan 2-1, in Australia’s final game. This World Cup 2010 Ghana vs. Australia is a cliff hanger.