THE BRAZIL ROAD – NOW ALL CLEAR By Michael Oberteye If I were to gather the massive heat that suddenly saturated under the bottoms of fans of the Black Stars when they conceded the first goal against the Pharaohs in the second leg of their play-off in Cairo, I’m sure it would have been enough to prepare the food in everyone’s home that evening. As for how high it went when Ghana was trailing by two goals to nil, that I bet you would have been enough heat to power an entirely new thermal plant for all of our energy concerns. But they managed to pull off a breather and all things eventually ended in our favour. After a lot of hullabaloo, the game is over, the Black Stars of Ghana scaled over what was to be ‘deadly lock’ between the two of the nations toughest sides. The lock between Ghana and Egypt came as the clash of death due largely to the calibre of the two teams involved. Many criticized the clash and said pitching two of the continent’s best sides who could have given the continent a shine at the World Cup meant one formidable side was crashing out anyway. Nothing much could be done anyway, except that the clash goes ahead and indeed it went ahead. Interesting enough, what was meant as a Goliath-Goliath affair sadly turned out to be a David and Goliath affair. Egypt did not present the calibre that everybody expected of them in the first game, going down 1-6. That’s why the second leg in their backyard was termed a ‘mission impossible.’ The point is that just a handful expected that sensational comeback, especially against a team such as the Black Stars. At the end of the day, the Pharaohs won but it was a victory without celebration. Their 2-1 win was mincemeat compared to the walloping they suffered. That’s why it wasn’t enough. You couldn’t neutralize a walloping with mincemeat, you see. Before thousands of their overzealous fans who were finally permitted into the stadium after some years of being denied watching the game due to crowd troubles, what a relief to be finally allowed to see this one. What everybody saw were ecstatic fans determined to make the difference and justify why they were allowed in. At the end of the day the aggregate stood at 7-3 in favour of the Ghanaians. Now, the road is all but clear. Everybody who left this country and elsewhere to Egypt has thankfully left the North African country in one piece. The players of the Black Stars, the technical team, the fans from all around the world, FIFA and CAF officials as well as match officials gratefully left Cairo just as they came without a scratch on their skins. But of course there were lots of tense moments in the game. The Egyptians needed five unanswered goals and the first goal sent everyone sitting on tenterhooks. The fear was that they had just begun their mission with the possibility of more. I personally thought I saw some nervousness on the part of the Stars, especially after they had conceded the goal. It was a similar malaise of nervousness by the Egyptians as admitted by their coach Bradley after his side were sunk 6-1. That was why I feared a similar fate to the Ghanaians could be suicidal. Our boys suddenly resorted to giving faulty passes and hardly made a decent threat at goal. But with just a few minutes left with still four more goals to put into the net, many began to heave a sigh of relief until the Egyptians struck again with just about five minutes to the end of regulation time. That’s when I supposed many fans of the Stars suddenly realized that it still was a long way to the end. Anything was still capable of happening. Maybe the Pharaohs were still strong to bang in just three more goals. That is why before the match many were of the opinion that the job should be done and done well here so that the second-leg becomes a mere formality. But in the end the Stars pulled one back sending the dreams of their hosts further beyond reach. Meanwhile, the Pharaohs are still a powerhouse despite the 7-3 humiliation on aggregate. I for one believe the Black Stars achieved their target despite Tuesday’s defeat against Egypt while stressing that the Pharaohs were a good and credible opponents. It was a difficult match to play for Ghana. As the coach, Akwasi Appiah himself admitted, a late arrival at the stadium limited the teams warm up and as a result we were rather slow out of the blocks. The Black Stars played the Pharaohs of Egypt at the 30th June Air Defence Stadium in Cairo in a bid to secure qualification to Brazil 2014.The comprehensive 7-3 aggregate win means Ghana has qualified for their third consecutive World Cup, while Egypt have not made the finals since 190. But it wasn’t just the Ghanaians. Five more of the continent’s boys sailed through. Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Burkina Faso all booked their tickets for Brazil. But before this in a previous article titled –BRAZIL 2014 – WHAT ARE THE AFRICAN STANDARDS? This is what I said per which countries were likely to qualify. “Let me put on my prediction cap and see how well I can make a good prediction before the five men are picked out of the whole lot of around 50 countries. Pardon my bias but I stand very well in picking my country Ghana. If they hold their own against Zambia, the southern Africans, then the Black Stars finish on top of the group putting them in good stead to override their next opponents in the two leg decider. Then also I see the Ivory Coast also grabbing their ticket from whichever opponent they’re paired against, also a prediction based on both past and recent performances as well as their standing on the FIFA Coca-Cola ranking as the continent’s number one. I must say picking the rest can be quite dicey but let me attempt making a few pick-outs such as Algeria, Nigeria, maybe Cameroun.” This was what I wrote and I believe I just got it all right. The journey has ended. It has been a trip full of suspense, captivating moments and surprises. Fifty-two African countries jumped onto the bumpy ride to Brazil 2014 a year ago, but only five survived the knotty expedition that came to an end on Tuesday night. It has been a week of tears and joy on the continent. Africa’s Big Five have been unveiled for the 2014 World Cup. Nigeria’s Super Eagles spread their wings and flew over Ethiopia, Ivory Coast’s Elephants overpowered the toothless Teranga Lions from Senegal whiles the ear-splitting roar of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon brought down the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia with the Black Stars confirming their seat in Brazil after an emphatic 3-7 aggregate win over the dreaded Pharaohs of Egypt. Coincidentally, the quintet also represented Africa at the last World Cup which was first held on the continent in South Africa. The Black Stars topped the goal scoring chart with 25 goals and conceded just six after eight games. Ivory Coast followed with 19 strikes and picked up seven from their net whiles Egypt scored same as the Elephants, but swallowed as much as 14 from eight games with Algeria netting three less than the Pharaohs and conceded seven fewer than them. Nigeria secured the eighth spot with 11 goals and four against whiles Cameroon finished with nine strikes and conceded four. The Algerians booked their place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup after a showdown with 2013 Africa Cup of Nations losing finalists Burkina Faso. The North Africans, who managed 15 points in Group H booked a ticket to their fourth World Cup. The Ivoirians were outclassed by the Teranga Lions of Senegal in the second leg play-off that ended 4-2 on aggregate after finishing as group winners with 14 points. And finally, the Indomitable Lions have registered an African record seventh World Cup after flogging the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia 4-1 in Yaounde after the first leg finished in a goalless draw in Tunis. These are the African representatives and I’ll ask the earlier question once more, with what standards do we go into the mundial come June, 2014?
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 13:00:01 +0000
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