FWC-Ghana
Ghana:-
The “Black Stars” just get better and better at every WC tournament they attend! Seeing how close they came last time around to achieving something great, a good portion of hopes for African WC glory rides on their shoulders.
Head coach Akwasi Appiah’s first worries lie on the left side of his defense. Schlupp’s lack of top-level experience and the fact that Ghana do not have another established left-back defender will probably see either Inkoom switched to LB or Harrison Afful pushed back into defense from his usual SM role.
Another issue for Ghana has been coach Appiah’s constant hesitance in picking a solid second CB to feature alongside John Boye. Both Akaminko and Mensah have proven their worth at the back and it remains to be seen whether coach Appiah will decide to go with Akaminko’s experience over Mensah’s youth.
Further forward, things start to look bright for Ghana; as they have an IMMENSE abundance of great attacking and midfield options! Most likely coach Appiah will stick to an (attacking) 4-3-3/4-4-2 set-up that has served him so well for the majority of his current tenure.
In midfield, a 2-man pivot will provide Ghana the solid back-bone when attacking and the proper cover when defending. Essien should feature as the main DM; however, his lack of pace and dynamism might prove costly during high-intensity games (think Germany and Portugal for starters). In such cases, Emmanuel Badu’s youth, higher tactical awareness and all-rounded positional play (coupled with Muntari’s own brilliance in midfield) would offer a slightly better choice for Ghana in the center of the pitch.
Ghana’s absolute main strength is provided by their wide players. They have extremely fast wingers and side-midfielders who all possess amazing dribbling skills, incredible technique and a very, very powerful shot.
Playing either side of the flanks will be the title of Ghana’s attacking strategy; they will harass midfielders and defenders in those areas of the pitch all game long and will look to expose every tiny inch of space to either penetrate the opposition defense from out-wide and launch an unstoppable shot or to simply run the channels and provide their target men with acute crosses time and time again.
Accommodating Kevin-Prince Boateng within the team’s set-up will be a tough task for coach Appiah; as he has worked really hard over the course of the last 2 years to achieve a proper, devastating attacking lay-out WITHOUT the inclusion of Boateng. Should Boateng start, it would lead to the exclusion of either Atsu or André Ayew, which is a shame in itself; because having both of those players on the pitch simultaneously takes Ghana’s football to a whole new dimension.
The degree to which Ghana accomplish such a task and offer alternative options if, and when, Boateng goes missing will dictate how far they go into this WC competition.
Main man: Asamoah Gyan: All eyes will be on this man whenever Ghana play. Incredible technique, wonderful agility, sharp goal-scoring abilities and a commanding presence sum up what Gyan is all about. He was utterly mesmerizing in South Africa 4 years ago and he will need to step-up big time in this WC campaign in order for Ghana to better their previous WC record.
Odds (average from top 24 betting firms): 215.13043
The “Black Stars” just get better and better at every WC tournament they attend! Seeing how close they came last time around to achieving something great, a good portion of hopes for African WC glory rides on their shoulders.
Head coach Akwasi Appiah’s first worries lie on the left side of his defense. Schlupp’s lack of top-level experience and the fact that Ghana do not have another established left-back defender will probably see either Inkoom switched to LB or Harrison Afful pushed back into defense from his usual SM role.
Another issue for Ghana has been coach Appiah’s constant hesitance in picking a solid second CB to feature alongside John Boye. Both Akaminko and Mensah have proven their worth at the back and it remains to be seen whether coach Appiah will decide to go with Akaminko’s experience over Mensah’s youth.
Further forward, things start to look bright for Ghana; as they have an IMMENSE abundance of great attacking and midfield options! Most likely coach Appiah will stick to an (attacking) 4-3-3/4-4-2 set-up that has served him so well for the majority of his current tenure.
In midfield, a 2-man pivot will provide Ghana the solid back-bone when attacking and the proper cover when defending. Essien should feature as the main DM; however, his lack of pace and dynamism might prove costly during high-intensity games (think Germany and Portugal for starters). In such cases, Emmanuel Badu’s youth, higher tactical awareness and all-rounded positional play (coupled with Muntari’s own brilliance in midfield) would offer a slightly better choice for Ghana in the center of the pitch.
Ghana’s absolute main strength is provided by their wide players. They have extremely fast wingers and side-midfielders who all possess amazing dribbling skills, incredible technique and a very, very powerful shot.
Playing either side of the flanks will be the title of Ghana’s attacking strategy; they will harass midfielders and defenders in those areas of the pitch all game long and will look to expose every tiny inch of space to either penetrate the opposition defense from out-wide and launch an unstoppable shot or to simply run the channels and provide their target men with acute crosses time and time again.
Accommodating Kevin-Prince Boateng within the team’s set-up will be a tough task for coach Appiah; as he has worked really hard over the course of the last 2 years to achieve a proper, devastating attacking lay-out WITHOUT the inclusion of Boateng. Should Boateng start, it would lead to the exclusion of either Atsu or André Ayew, which is a shame in itself; because having both of those players on the pitch simultaneously takes Ghana’s football to a whole new dimension.
The degree to which Ghana accomplish such a task and offer alternative options if, and when, Boateng goes missing will dictate how far they go into this WC competition.
Main man: Asamoah Gyan: All eyes will be on this man whenever Ghana play. Incredible technique, wonderful agility, sharp goal-scoring abilities and a commanding presence sum up what Gyan is all about. He was utterly mesmerizing in South Africa 4 years ago and he will need to step-up big time in this WC campaign in order for Ghana to better their previous WC record.
Odds (average from top 24 betting firms): 215.13043
Ahmad Al-Omar - 26. May, 09:42
