Ghana vs. Germany Match Report

Ghana Earns Creditable Draw Against Germany

The Black Stars of Ghana came agonizingly close to upsetting pre-tournament favourites Germany in a truly pulsating game of football. Goals from Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan put us in the lead after Mario Götze's opener. Scoring was completed by Miroslav Klose, who came off the bench for the three time world cup winners to equalise (and in doing became joint all time world cup leading scorer). This game will live long in the memory for its dramatic end to end finish with both sides having great chances to take all three points.

Fans in attendance in Fortaleza, Brazil were treated to a fantastic game of football particularly in the second half with all four goals occurring in the latter period. The game started fairly uneventfully with Ghana set up to stifle any German attempts to penetrate their rearguard by dropping fairly deep and standing off their opponents. Germany opted not to commit too many players forward in order to keep their shape and avoid the dangerous Ghanaian counter-attacks.

Germany started the match with the same 11 that dismantled Portugal in their opening match. Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah made three personnel changes to the team that faced the USA. Fatau Dauda replaced Adam Kwarasey in goal, Harrison Afful came in for the erratic Daniel Opare and Kevin-Prince Boateng replaced Jordan Ayew. Ghana used a 5 man midfield with Gyan as a lone striker in a tactical switch in formation.

The first chance of the game came in the 7th minute, with Gyan blazing over the bar after good work down the right wing by the pacey Christian Atsu. Germany responded with long range efforts from Bayern Munich's Toni Kroos. Real Madrid's Sami Khedira had a decent shooting opportunity that ended up going straight into the hands of Ghana keeper Fatau Dauda. As the half wore on Christian Atsu's influence grew as he continually got the better of German left back Benedikt Höwedes with his pace and trickery.

The Germans began to find space down the flanks with intelligent runs in behind our defence by Mesut Ozil and Mario Götze. Each time our back line was breached, Ghana's central defensive pairing of John Boye and Jonathan Mensah were sharp and alert to the danger, cutting out the supply lines to Thomas Muller. However both sides  remained cautious overall with the half ending goalless.

The second half sparked into life in the 51st minute with Germany taking the lead. The goal was created by Thomas Muller who found space and time on the right to centre the ball for Götze's well timed run into the box. His finish was somewhat fortuitous though, as his initial header cannoned off his face onto his knee before rolling into the net. Ghana knew coming into this match that they needed at least a point to keep their hopes of qualification alive and responded extremely well to the setback.

Only 3 minutes after the opener, the Black Stars drew level. Similar to the German goal it was a cross from the right wing by full back Harrison Afful with Andre Ayew providing the finish with an emphatic header which left German goalie Manuel Neuer no chance. Queue jubilant scenes from the Ghanaian supporters in the stadium (and undoubtedly all around the world). Ghana's almost immediate response startled Germany and breathed further life and impetus into their opponents.

Before Germany were able to fully regroup, Ghana took a deserved lead through their irrepressible captain Asamoah Gyan. Gyan had half chances in the first half that he could have done better with, but once he was played in after a great interception and through ball from Sulley Muntari he was not going to be denied. Gyan became the second Africa player with 5 world cup goals to his name (the other being the equally irrepressible Roger Miller). 

Germany were rattled and Ghana had a great opportunity to get a third goal after a magnificent run down the left channel by substitute Jordan Ayew. However he elected to go it alone by cutting onto his right foot with his shot harmlessly rolling to the German keeper. The better option would have been to square the ball to striker partner Gyan who had kept up with him during his lung busting run and was in a much better position to score. 

With that chance squandered you immediately felt that German may have gotten a reprieve. And so it proved on the 71st minute as Ghana conceded its 2nd goal from a corner kick in as many games. Germany had already made two changes after going a goal down, bringing on Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose for Mario Götze and Sami Khedira. Klose, a goal poacher par excellence was on hand to divert a goal bound effort of defender Höwedes into the net. Once again the scores were level.

The game became stretched as both sides began to tire after putting in so much effort in extremely hot and humid conditions. Both teams could lay claim to good opportunities to score the decisive third goal if not for the last ditch defending and poor execution in the final third. The game ended in a draw which leaves Germany still topping the group with 4 points and Ghana hanging on in hope that Portugal get a result against the USA.

Ghana's final group game is against the Portuguese on Thursday the 26th of June. Nothing less than a win against Ronaldo and company (alongside the US losing their remaining games) will be sufficient to go through to the next round of the competition. Ironically Ghana will be cheering for a Portuguese victory against the USA in their match tomorrow.

You can follow me on twitter: @kwamberto

Ghana vs. Germany Preview: Question Marks Remain for the Black Stars

Question Marks Remain for the Black Stars

The dust seems to have settled following the USMNT's successful revenge mission on the Black Stars after losing to us in the two previous tournaments. Reports of team revolt after the game were quickly dismissed by the GFA (with them posting pictures of training, probably to ease our fears). Focus has now turned firmly onto the next must-not-lose game against Germany tomorrow.

With that being said there are a number of areas that Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah must learn from in order to correct some of the mistakes made against the Americans. Broadly speaking his team selection, tactical approach and in-game management were called to question by many fans and pundits alike (including myself admittedly). Here are a few areas I believe Ghana need to focus on to have any realistic chance against Muller, Ozil & co.

Experience counts: This is such an important game that we need to have as much composure and experience in the side as possible. This is naturally a balancing act, fitness levels must be gauged by the coaching staff but the likes of Michael Essien and Kevin Prince Boateng have strong cases to start on this basis alone. Although Mohammed Rabiu did relatively well in the defensive midfield role this is his first major international tournament and could do with an experienced defensive minded midfielder like an Essien or even an Agyemang Badu to play alongside him or even to replace him. 

In defence we opted for Daniel Opare at right back rather than the relatively more experienced Sam Inkoom. Opare seems like a relatively more energetic and offensive player but wasn't very effective with his runs and crosses down the right wing. Also defensively he doesn't look very assured. Coach Appiah would do well to select the more experienced right back when faced with the potential onslaught we are likely to deal with when Germany mount sustained attacks.

Ultimately Ghana needs to have leaders on the pitch in order to make sure we are able to stay composed and keep our defensive shape if we're faced with any pressure from the opposition. Experienced players are better placed to do this.

Tactical Approach: One thing we can learn from team USA is how they managed to squeeze the pitch defensively and make it difficult for our more technically gifted players to break them down. When facing Germany, Ghana will probably have to adopt a similar tactical approach to our American counterparts, which means dropping fairly deep and keeping two banks of four (with Appiah's preference for two strikers). Alternatively we could go for a 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 formation with at least one defensive midfield pivot keeping track of the runs of Germany's more creative players that will invariably try and get 'between the lines' and wreak havoc on our defence. I would opt to play Gyan as a lone striker with support from Andre Ayew with his younger brother dropping to the bench. This is the system we have used to great effect in previous world cups as it gives our numerous midfield options a better platform to shine and control games.

Irrespective of which formation the coach chooses to go with it is absolutely imperative that Ghana are switched on right from the off. An early deficit against a team of the quality of the USA wasn't totally disastrous but making the same mistake against a team of the caliber of Germany most certainly would be. Essentially our best bet tactically is to sit deep (but not too deep) and hit Germany on the break with the pace of Ayew and Gyan with KPB and maybe Muntari given licence to support them. Playing a five man midfield would also be ideal in making it difficult for the Germans to find space in our half of the pitch.

Overall we do need to have a disciplined approach but Ghana must not sacrifice too much of its cutting edge. To do this we mustn't get caught defending too deep. A good indicator will be whether we are defending just in front of the penalty box and not dropping as deep as the 6 yard box too often. This could make a difference in terms of carrying out our own counter attacks and exploiting the space that Germany may leave in behind searching for a breakthrough.

In-Game Adjustments: One of my gripes with our coach's performance in the previous game was the lack of dynamism in our play when it was clear that a lot of our approach play (particularly in the first half) was not working against the USA. Rather than holding onto possession and working the opposition around the pitch with clever runs from our midfield and strikers to create space, we were guilty of launching long balls and wayward crosses to our attackers time and time again. Our coach needs to spot these issues early and get instructions on the pitch to tweak our approach (if not our personnel). 

Although it is clear that Germany will pose the Black Stars very different problems to the ones they faced against the USA; What matters is that our coach is able to quickly identify issues with our setup and get instructions onto the pitch to make the adjustments needed to plug any gaps (or indeed exploit weaknesses in the opposition) that he is able to spot during the game. In a game like this we can't afford to wait until half time to adjust to our opponents as that could possibly be too late.

In conclusion Ghana do have work to do to get it right and its fair to say that Germany will be favorites for the game, however with the talent at our disposal and the right tactical approach and attitude we can cause Germany problems and take something from the game. Regardless of what players the coach selects or his tactical setup if the players do what is necessary with the right level of conviction anything is possible. Although we should respect the Germans we have nothing to fear if we play to our potential.

Fingers crossed we can pull off a shock tomorrow... 

You can follow me on twitter: @kwamberto

Ghana vs. USA Match Report

Individual Errors Cost Ghana Dear Against the USA

In what could be considered an elimination match, Ghana’s two key errors led to early and late goals for team USA that secured a vital victory for them. Although Ghana can and should take some positives from the game it was a bitterly disappointing result which leaves us a mountain to climb if we are to have any hope of qualifying for the next round.

In contrast to our last meeting with the USA four years ago in South Africa it was the USA that took a staggeringly early lead with just 29 seconds on the clock when Clint Dempsey waltzed past the hapless defending of John Boye before slotting past Adam Kwarasey in goal with a low strike into the corner of the net. It was the worst possible start for Ghana in what most would have considered a must win (or at worse a MUST-NOT-LOSE) game for both sides considering the relative strength of the other teams in the group.

To be fair to Ghana, after absorbing the shock of the early set back the Black Stars gradually took hold of the match by dominating possession and creating half chances to equalize. The issue was with Ghana’s preferred pattern of play which regularly resulted in long balls slung up top to our strike pair of Asamoah Gyan and Jordan Ayew and aimless crosses particularly down the right flank by the energetic if slightly raw pair of Christian Atsu and right back Daniel Opare. Although chances were at a premium, Ghana were causing the USA problems as Jurgen Klinsmann's side ceded the territorial advantage by dropping deeper and deeper into their own half happy to defend and launch counter attacks when possible. This tactic meant Ghana found it hard to break down the stubborn American resistance to our attacks, with only Asamoah Gyan’s long shot troubling their ‘keeper. Jordan Ayew could and should have done better when Atsu broke down the right wing and pulled the ball back to the Sochaux striker only for him to tamely hit the ball into the hands of the grateful keeper.

The score remained 0-1 to the Americans at the half. Ghana’s performance did improve in the second half with slight variation in play with more balance in attack. Juventus' left wing back Kwadwo Asamoah was having greater influence on play and getting on the ball to fire in dangerous crosses. A glorious chance to equalise came from a great cross from the left by AC Milan’s Sulley Muntari but unfortunately Asamoah Gyan’s header wasn't on target and did not test US & Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard. Ghana peppered the US goal with further shots from Atsu, Asamoah and Muntari without success. At this point it was clear that Ghana was the technically superior team and with the introduction of Kevin Prince Boateng (replacing the ineffective Jordan Ayew) it did look as though only one team was likely to score at that point.

The equaliser did eventually arrive in the 83rd minute after consistent Ghanaian pressure culminating in a nice move coming once again from our left side. Neat interplay between Asamoah and Ayew resulted into Gyan finding space down the left side of the USA penalty box. A clever back heal from Gyan into the path of the onrushing Ayew created Ghana’s best chance of the game and the son of Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew did not disappoint with his left footed finish low to the near post. Finally Ghana’s pressure had told and the game was level, you got the feeling there was only one team that would go onto to win it, however that wasn't the case.

The energy exerted chasing the game seemed to take effect on Ghana as they weren't able to find any rhythm after their goal. In fact it was the US team that were galvanized into action further up the pitch, where they had offered precious little in the second half. Substitute Graham Zusi and Fabian Johnson did manage to create a few scares by breaking down the left side of Ghana’s defence. This was also the channel to which good hustle play by the United States created the decisive corner kick. In what should have been a goal kick to Ghana, centre back Jonathan Mensah showed a lack of composure in this situation and was unable to let the ball roll out of play without touching it due to the pressure he was under from US right back Fabian Johnson.

The corner from Zusi was perfect for his fellow US sub John Brooks who powered home a header that left Ghana's keeper little chance to save it. Parity that Ghana had worked so hard for only lasted 3 minutes. Once again we were caught cold with another American sucker punch. Ghana weren't able to muster any danger in the waning minutes of the match and the game ended in a famous victory for the USA. Sweet revenge for America means Ghana is left to rue their missed chances as well as their tactical approach and team selection. Many questions will be asked of the Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah after electing not to start with Boateng or Michael Essien. Upfront our two strikers often occupied the same spaces and made similar runs into the box meaning it was more difficult to pick anyone out with our numerous crosses that were meat and drink the bigger and taller American central defenders.

The Black Stars will need to regroup quickly as they now have the daunting task of needing to take points (including at least 1 win) from games against European giants Germany and Portugal to have any hope of qualifying for the next round. We should take positives from this game knowing all in all, we were the better team and our mistakes rather than any brilliance from the Americans cost us the game. Immediate improvement is needed to restore pride and hope for qualification in our next game against three times champions Germany.

You can follow me on twitter: @kwamberto