From William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent, Pretoria, South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa, June 15, GNA - History favours the Socceroos of Australia ahead of their Group D clash with the Black Stars on Saturday in Rustenburg.
The Aussies will engage the Black Stars in the second Group D match, hoping to confirm their dominance over their West African counterparts over the past years.
The duel will be the first time the two teams are meeting each other in a major competition at the senior level. All previous meetings between the two sides were either in international friendly matches or during under-aged competitions.
Of the six meetings between the two sides, the Aussies have emerged victors on four occasions, leaving one win for the Black Stars and the other ending in a stalemate.
The first ever meeting between the two sides at the senior level was on June 18, 1995 in Sydney during a tour of the Black Stars which recorded a 2-1 win in favour of the Aussies.
Three days later, the Socceroos secured a lone goal victory over the Black Stars in Adelaide before the latter managed a lone goal victory three days later in Perth.
Then come September 14, 1996 in Durban, South Africa, where the Aussies beat the Black Stars 2-0.
Six years later, November 14, in London, the Stars held the Socceroos to a one all draw before the Aussies garnered their fourth win over the Black Stars, 1-0 during a friendly held in Sydney on May 23, 2008. The last encounter had Sellas Tetteh in charge of the Black Stars after Frenchman Claude Leroy had parted ways with the Ghana Football Association, following the team's bronze medal feat at the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
