The Ghana team, the last African team in this World Cup in South Africa, carries the ardent hopes of African fans, which is both motivation and pressure for them.
Even throughout Africa and even around the world, Ghanaian stars have occupied a place. In addition to players such as Essien, Muntari and Appiah who are currently active in football, there are also many famous players in Ghana's history - Abedi Bailey and Yeboah entered FIFA World Football in the 1990s Top 10 Mr. Entering the new century, both Kufuor and Essien have been nominated for the "France Football" Golden Globe Award. Abedi Pele was also selected into the list of the world's top 100 living stars selected by Brazilian football king Pele in 2004. In 1999, Abedi Bailey and Yeboah were also selected together on iffhs' list of Africa's greatest stars of the century. On January 13, 2007, in the selection of the top 30 stars in African history conducted by the Confederation of African Football, Abedi Bailey, Essien, Yeboah, Razak, and Kufuor were all selected, accounting for 30 people in the roster.
6.
There are two group stages in the African region of this World Cup qualifier, both of which are four-team double rounds. In the first stage of the group stage, Ghana achieved a record of 4 wins and 2 losses. In the first two games, it defeated Libya 3-0 at home and Lesotho 3-2 away. After that, it lost against Gabon at home and won at home. Although in the fifth round They lost to Libya 0-1 away from home, but returned to home and defeated Lesotho 3-0 to successfully advance. In the second stage of the group round robin, Ghana was even more invincible. It defeated Benin 1-0 at home, and won two consecutive 2-0 away games against Mali and Sudan. Then it defeated Sudan 2-0 at home, scoring 7 goals and conceding 0 goals. The first one to qualify from the African zone.
In the second stage, the first four qualifiers of the group stage won the game and performed almost perfectly. The performance was almost perfect. For two consecutive times, Ghana completely proved his strength in Africa. This is inseparable from Ghana's efforts to vigorously strengthen the training of young players over the years. In recent years, Ghana has repeatedly won gold and silver in youth competitions, fully demonstrating their efforts in cultivating reserve forces. Now the Ghana team has midfield superstars like Essien and Muntari, and almost all other players are playing in the European League. Their overall strength advantage allowed them to easily defeat Benin, Mali and Sudan in the second group stage. Such an opponent. The team's strong defense has also been evident during its four-game winning streak.
After qualifying, despite captain Appiah calling on the team to strive for a complete victory to end the battle, Ghana still lost to Benin and drew with Mali in the last two qualifiers. This is understandable, after all, after the team qualified, the goal has been achieved, and the players will relax on the court anyway. However, what happened next showed that Ghana was still unable to get rid of the chronic problems of African teams. Three players, Essien, Muntari and Gian, were named and criticized by head coach Rajevac for missing the friendly match against Angola without authorization. Today, when football matches are becoming more and more rigorous, a team without strict tactical discipline will not achieve much. This is also a problem that Rajevac must solve.
Throughout the qualifiers, Ghana had 8 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses in 12 games, scoring 20 goals and conceding 8 goals. The prospect of qualifying has never been challenged. Forward Amoa became Ghana's top scorer in the qualifiers with 5 goals. The 29-year-old forward for Breda, a mid-range Eredivisie team, played for Dortmund from 2005 to 2007. However, he had few opportunities in the Bundesliga. After moving to the Eredivisie, his goal rate was close to 50%. The 31-year-old goalkeeper Jinson, who plays for Wigan, is the team's player with the longest playing time in this qualifying round, participating in all 12 games. The football prodigal has spent the past 13 years in Turkey, Sweden and England, changing six clubs in Turkey alone.
In 2006, Ghana, which entered the World Cup for the first time, unexpectedly qualified from the group, reached the top 16, and finally ranked 13th despite being not favored before the game. The head coach at that time was Dujkovic, the later head coach of the Chinese Olympic team. The Ghana team at that time was also the youngest team in the World Cup, with an average age of only 23 years and 352 days. From this point of view, it is inevitable that Ghana can reach the World Cup again four years later.
In the World Cup in South Africa, after the brother teams failed to do their best, the Ghana team took up the banner of safeguarding African football. In the first group match, they defeated the Serbian team 1:0. Although they won with a penalty kick, without their own efforts, how could they have won the penalty kick? In the second game, they faced the powerful Australian team. After a bloody battle, the two sides tied 1:1. It was Gian who was the most threatening offensive point of the Ghana team. He was not tall, and with his excellent physical fitness, he Playing the role of a lone forward, his flexible movement creates gaps for his teammates, which is also a weapon for Ghana's offense. After scoring a penalty kick in the previous game, the key man who created an upset in the first round once again stood in front of the 12 yards in this round and scored his second goal in the cup with a calm penalty kick. These two penalty kicks also helped Ghana score 4 points and lead Group D.
In the third group match, despite losing to the German team 0:1, they successfully entered the knockout stage through their own efforts and overpowered other teams in the group. In the knockout round, facing the strong American team, it was Gian¡¯s goal in overtime, which eliminated the Americans 2:1, and met Uruguay at 1
4 finals.
The two teams of Uruguay and Ghana have never faced each other in the history of the World Cup. Ghana is the only African team to reach the quarterfinals. They have tied the record set by Senegal. In terms of lineup, Ghana's Jonathan and Ayew have been suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, and midfielder Muntari made his first start. Uruguay's Godin was absent due to injury, and Victorino replaced him, continuing to maintain the main lineup headed by the "Trident" in the frontcourt. The referee of this game is Ben Kerensa from Portugal. The World Cup in South Africa has gradually come to an end, and there is an African team in this game, so 95% of the seats in the stands are full.
The winner of this game will be the opponent of the Danish team in the next game. Therefore, Olsen led all the players to sit in the stands of the Football City Stadium and watch it quietly. And because of the arrival of Qin Tian and others, the stands became very lively for a while, which was quite a bit overwhelming until the game started.
Before the game, there was an episode. The captains of the two teams, Lugano and Mensah, read out the oath in public to oppose any discrimination on the football field. The players of the two teams together displayed the banner of FIFA¡¯s Anti-Discrimination Day, in a solemn atmosphere. In the atmosphere, the game officially started.
The Uruguay team from the Americas was clearly superior in strength, and they struck first as soon as the whistle blew. In the third minute, Foran midfielder broke through with the ball and then distributed the ball. Fernandez's cross from the right almost hit the goal. It really felt like a miss. If the Ghana goalkeeper hadn't been so focused, the goal might have been lost at this moment.
Unforgiving, in the 5th minute, Foran took another corner kick from the left and turned it directly to the front post. The African fans in the stands were shocked to sweat. Foran, one of Uruguay's front three, is indeed well-deserved. . While Olson was watching, he was also whispering to Michelle next to him.
The eyes returned to the court. 5 minutes later, Suarez's shot from a small angle on the left side of the penalty area was confiscated by Jinson. However, the ball did not fly very far and was intercepted by the Uruguayan player. In desperation, the Ghanaian player fouled and Uruguay got a frontcourt goal. Free kick opportunity from long range. It was still Fulan who directly chose to hit the goal, but was again resolved by goalkeeper Jin Sen.
In the 17th minute, Foran took a corner kick from the left. The ball hit Mensah and flew towards the goal. Jinson blocked the ball. During the period after the game started, Foran became the most eye-catching player in both teams. Defense, offense, sports battles, set pieces, it seemed that he was indispensable in every offensive method. The active performance also attracted the attention of Danish players, especially the backline players. After all, if Uruguay advances, they will be face-to-face opponents.
In the 20th minute, Uruguay's Fucile violated Asamoah and received the first yellow card of the game. This is nothing. Unfortunately, if Uruguay advances, Fucile will miss the next game. Seeing Fusilai shaking his head with a wry smile, I believe that his heart is full of regret at this moment.
4 minutes later, the Uruguay team set off a wave of offensive frenzy. First, Fernandez took the ball. Forlan grabbed the spot in front of the penalty area and shot over the crossbar. Suarez's powerful right-footed shot from 15 meters in front of the goal was blocked again by Jinson. Foran, who followed up, made a supplementary shot, which continued to deviate from the goal post. Fulan, who repeatedly missed opportunities, also rubbed his hair fiercely.
After playing under pressure for nearly half an hour, the Ghana team finally woke up. In the 29th minute, Muntari took a corner kick from the right. Volsa jumped high and headed the ball hard. The left goal post missed, and then Boateng passed Renqiu on the right and crossed into the penalty area. Gian, who has always been very active, almost broke the deadlock with his right foot. The African fans in the stands shouted regretfully.
The first goal came in the stoppage time of the first half. It was not the Uruguay team that opened the door first, but the always depressed Ghanaians. In the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Muntari used the iconic shooting method of African players, a long shot from 35 meters away, and hit the Uruguay goal with his right foot, 1:0.
At this moment, the stands of African fans in the stadium immediately became like a festival. Uuzula's voice resounded crazily over the stadium. The noise was so crazy that the Danish players who had received temporary special training couldn't help but cover up. The ears pricked up. Qin Tian suddenly thought that Chairman Blatter, who was sitting in the VIP table at the moment, still insisted that this was a characteristic of the African people. He probably was just pretending to be fat.
After the halftime break, the Uruguay head coach immediately made substitution adjustments. Lodeiro replaced Fernandez. I don¡¯t know whether Fernandez was injured or whether the coach was very dissatisfied with the first half, but it was obvious. Fernandez, who was sitting on the bench, had a nasty face that said "Keep away from strangers."
Finally, in the 54th minute of the game, the Uruguayans equalized the score., it was still Foran who scored a goal. Teammate Fusile was kicked down by the opponent's Pantsil on the left side of the penalty area. While the latter was given a yellow card, Uruguay got a valuable free kick opportunity. And Foran's free kick shot suddenly arced in front of the goal. Jinson made an obvious error in judging the path of the ball. The ball flew into the center of the goal and flew into the net, 1:1.
"Thomas, can you guard this free kick?" Olsen suddenly turned his head and asked goalkeeper Sorensen who was sitting not far away.
Sorensen pondered for a while, "If there is no problem with the position, it should be OK. But on the court, it is difficult to ensure that in that kind of atmosphere, one's mind is always clear. Frankly speaking, Foran's shot is very effective. Deceptive, masterful.¡±
Olson nodded and placed a circle on Foran's name in the small book.
In the subsequent games, the players from both sides fought more actively and exchanged the ball frequently. However, the only regret was that the scene was not pretty. It seemed that the two teams were caught in a hand-to-hand battle. And one player each received a yellow card again. Until the end of the 90 minutes, the score remained at 1:1.
Overtime, 1
In the second overtime game of the 4 finals, it can be seen that after entering the knockout stage, the intensity of the game, the team's defensive intensity, and the players' fighting will have increased several levels.
The overtime match between the two teams still became a tug-of-war. Just when Olson was about to call the players to leave, the situation on the field suddenly changed. Uruguayan player Suarez made a fatal mistake in the penalty area and used the ball on the goal line. His hand blocked the shot of Ghanaian teenager Aditya. Not only did he receive a red card, he also contributed a penalty kick to the other team.
Ji'an stood at the penalty spot with the eager hope of all Ghanaians, "Haha, I didn't expect it, there are twists and turns, it seems that our opponent in the next game is the Ghanaian," Bendtner shouted.
"Not necessarily, I think the Uruguayans have greater hope of advancing," Qin Tian said lightly, "Ji'an is under a lot of pressure."
Sure enough, Gian, a player who had scored two penalty kicks in the previous games and made great achievements for the team, hit the penalty kick on the crossbar. Uruguay escaped and the two sides officially entered the penalty shootout. In the end, it was the Uruguayan who had the last laugh. Bendtner looked at Qin Tian suspiciously, "Are you the legendary 'magic stick'?"
Qin Tian glared at him angrily, wondering what the hell this big man who was suddenly obsessed with ZG culture was studying. This is just a small episode. What is really certain is that the opponent in the next semi-final is the Uruguayan, an opponent that cannot be underestimated.
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