England v Ghana: Gyan is ready to make history

GHANA striker Asamoah Gyan is ready to make history against England tonight but is disappointed Fabio Capello has rested his big players for the Wembley clash. The 21,000 visiting fans for the friendly, a record for an away country, had been hoping to see Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.

They will all be missing, but the fans could still see an African team win at the national stadium for the first time.


Gyan said: “We were expecting the changes. I might be disappointed but it is one of those things. Maybe the fans are disappointed because we have never played against England.


“Maybe some of the fans are there to see the big names and they are not playing.


“They have paid a lot of money. They came to see Rooney and the big players. “But from our viewpoint, it doesn’t matter. Those players who are coming to face Ghana are also good players, maybe they might be better than those players that are out. England are still a strong side.”


Ghana skipper and Gyan’s Sunderland team-mate, John Mensah, echoed those sentiments. He said: “It would be nice to see the big names but I don’t think those that are playing are not good.”

While the likes of Rooney put their feet up, Ghana were travelling via Kenya to London despite playing against Congo in an African Nations qualifier on Sunday. Ghana’s Serbian manager Goran Stevanovic has promised to give the fans something to cheer about, even if they are not seeing England’s superstars.


“It is important for us that the fans enjoy the game and we will do our best to make sure they enjoy the game,” said Stevanovic.


“We are playing against England, not one or two players. Every player who plays for England is a good player.”


The fixture meant so much to Kevin-Prince Boateng that he travelled to London to have a foot injury assessed but was sent back to AC Milan and will not play. For the rest of the squad, there is the possibility of playing their part in a memorable evening.