Reasons Ghana must not be complacent today

The Black Stars of Ghana come face to face with their counterparts from Comoros in the 2018 World Cup qualifier at the Stade Cheikh Said Mohammed on Friday.

The task appears very simple and easy for the Black Stars to put their opponents to their rightful place but the language of football means that the Black Stars must not take the game easy as their counterparts can surprise them.

Below are five reasons why the Black Stars of Ghana must not underrate Comoros

The motivation of playing against Ghana: Ranked 117th in the latest FIFA rankings, theLes Coelecantes will be approaching the game more determined than the Black Stars. The intrinsic motivation the team derives from playing against the four times African champions is enough to get the Black Stars surprised.

The game of football has developed such that 'smaller' teams always feel motivated when playing against the big guns; and the Ghana/Comoros clash is not an exception. In 2006 when Ghana appeared at the World Cup in Germany for the first time, Ghana were then ranked 48th in the world but that motivated the team to beat the Czech Republic and the U.S.A who were ranked 2nd and 5th respectively.

A similar incident happened at the 2002 World Cup co-hosted byJapan and South Korea. Senegal surprised the football world by beating the defending champions France by a lone goal in the opening match. But Senegal at that time were underdogs going into the game. The Black Stars must therefore take a cue from these instance because underrating the Les Coelecantes will be attheir own peril.

The search for a home win: The Les Coelecanteswill be searching for their first home win after becoming a member of FIFA since 2007. The motivation of making their fans happy by given them their first home win in a competitive game is what will drive them to surprise the Black Stars. The Black Stars then risk being the first team to give the Comoros side their first home win if they assume that they are a cheap side.

The Black Stars bonus issues: As an ardent follower of the Black Stars and a lover of the game, I still maintain that the appearance fees of the Black Stars at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was the genesis of the revelation of the troubles the team encountered.

The team got swayed by the bonus banter with the Ministry of Youth and Sports which escalated into the lamentable performance of the team at the World Cup. Similarly, we are having the same challenges ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier. I am afraid, but it may affect the psychology of the team. Before our game against Uganda at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in the 2015 Afcon qualifiers in September last year, another incident happened.

A journalist confronted Asamoah Gyan with the whereabouts of his friend Castro, followed by fans chanting Castro's name at the team's training grounds. The issue affected the psyche of the players and the team nearly lost the game to the Cranes of Uganda. The current situation will surely have an effect on the psyche of the team which becomes a great advantage to Comoros tomorrow.

Comoros is an unknown side: The fact that Comoros is an unknown side makes the whole thing very difficult for the Black Stars. As journalist struggle to get information about the Les Coelecantes, so is the technical team of the Black Stars. This is an unknown Comoros side that knows the Black Stars inside-out based on the videos at their disposal and the performance of the Black Stars in various international competitions.

There is little information about the Comoros team with most of their players unknown. It therefore poses a great threat for the Black Stars as they have little or no information about their opponents. Their unknown status is an advantage to them in the opening exchanges of the game as the Black Stars popularity and sophistication makes it easy for their opponents to know their strengths and weaknesses.

The artificial pitch factor: When deputy captain of the Black Stars, Andre Ayew was asked about the artificial pitch in Moroni, he said "We are going to play on a difficult pitch which is the Astroturf. Its not good for our body or for the game but we are going to prepare to adapt to the situation because we want to qualify." Does Dede's comment raise eyebrows?

Yes it does. The players have admitted that it is always difficult playing on the artificial pitch and that means Comoros have an advantage. The Les Coelecantes, are already familiar with the field and have a greater advantage going into the game. The Black Stars will therefore have to recognize the fact that the field is an unfamiliar ground for them as the Comoros side start the game as favourite considering the nature of the pitch.