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African World Cup Qualifying Preview: Group B [Fri Sep 2nd, 2005]
If they had been dreaming of playing in the World Cup finals, then the time has finally come for the Black Stars of Ghana to prove that they are capable of qualifying and make it through to football's most prestigious tournament. But will it be that easy? Certainly not, at least, no team should be underrated now.
They share fifteen points with South Africa at the top of Group B, but have a better head-to-head record. Can South Africa defy all odds and qualify for a second consecutive tournament thus denying the Ghanaians a debut in the World Cup finals? We shall see what happens when the next set of qualifiers play this first week of September.
Ghana will host Uganda, who lie at the bottom of the group with seven points, on September 4 in a match that they must win in order to keep their hopes alive of making it to the finals. The Black Stars, playing on home soil, will be backed by full support from enthusiastic home fans who feel their dream has finally come true - if only their beloved team can live up to expectations.
The Black Stars are expected to win this encounter taking into consideration the high momentum in their camp at the moment, especially as they stand a golden chance based on their current position in the group and they will hope to contain the Ugandans on the pitch.
A win for them will send waves of massive jubilation throughout the country that will be hosting the 2008 African Nations Cup final.
The squad will be boosted with the presence of top midfielders Captain Stephen Appiah and Michel Essien, who completed a move from Olympique Lyon to English champions Chelsea for a record-signing fee of £24.4 million.
There is still doubt whether coach Ratomir Dujkovic will include Sammy Kuffour in the squad, despite the AS Roma defender’s apology over an incident where he accused the coach and the Ghana FA of giving false information pertaining his health, after he was not included in the squad that played against DR Congo in March.
It should be noted that South Africa are also strong contenders in this group, but they will face a tough encounter when they play away to Burkina Faso on September 3.
Even though Bafana Bafana beat Burkina Faso 2-0 in the first leg last year, they might be aware of how difficult it is to beat their opponents away, as Burkina Faso have lost only one out of three home matches since the start of the qualifying campaign. South Africa need to win this match if they are to revive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals.
Bafana Bafana lost 4-0 to Iceland in August in an international friendly match that was played in Reykjavik. Good news for coach Stuart Baxter ahead of their match against Burkina Faso is the recovery of FC Porto striker Benni McCarthy from injury.
Charlton Athletic striker Shaun Bartlett, who was injured prior to the Iceland friendly, has been included in the squad, while Quinton Fortune is out.
DR Congo are also close in third place with twelve points, just three points from the group leaders Ghana and South Africa but have little chance of reaching the finals in Germany.
DR Congo, formerly known as Zaire but renamed in 1997, will play host to Cape Verde in Kinshasa on September 4, where a win will put them in good position to also qualify for next year’s African Nations Cup.
Should they lose that match, Cape Verde’s hope of qualifying for the Nations Cup finals would be revived, at least until the final qualifying matches are played.
DR Congo beat Guinea 3-1 in a friendly match on August 16 in Paris as they prepared for Cape Verde. Should any of the top three teams in this group fail to win their next qualifying matches in September, their chances of playing in the World Cup finals will be greatly affected.
Burkina Faso in fifth position with nine points will play host to South Africa, while bottom side Uganda, with seven points, will play away to Ghana. The final round of qualifiers will be played in October.
Ibrahim Dabo
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