Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi and his management pulled all the stops with a forgive-and-forget, heart-to-heart, no holds barred motivational meeting to stir up and pump up the Black Stars ahead of the Germany encounter at Soccer City.
Whatever was said in the closed-door meeting must have been stinging to raise the stakes and ante for the Black Stars best performance to date albeit if it ended in a slim 1-0 defeat. The "family" crisis meeting worked and the fighting output from each player was clearly evident. The boys would need to raise it up a notch against the USA.
With Ivory Coast needing a miracle in goal difference to qualify from Group G and with Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria and hosts South Africa already eliminated, Ghana is the only African representative in the round of 16.
Midfielder Mesut Ozil stunning 60th strike meant that it was a nerve wracking final few minutes at the imposing and inspirational edifice at Soccer City as Ghana fans looked up to the giant screen for confirmation of qualification. When at last the result of Australia's victory over Serbia was beamed, the roar of delight was deafening.
Once again Ghana is back on the front pages here and making headlines around the world this time for all the right reasons. Stars coach Milan Rajevac has called on South African fans to back his side following the second round berth as Group D runners-up on goal difference.
The over-hyped and exaggerated "reprisals" by Germany players against Kevin Prince Boateng never materialized as the midfielder had another fine game. Instead, the game was historic for showcasing the first time two brothers had played against each other in a World Cup match, with Prince Boateng lining up against sibling Jerome. The fear of losing to the Europeans rather gave way to the weight of expectation and the inclusion of Sulley Ali Muntari shows maturity that the GFA and coach Rajevach have learnt very well from past slip-ups.
Elsewhere, former US President Bill Clinton was specially sent by President Barack Obama to "pump up" the USA team against Algeria and it worked a treat as the Stars and Stripes fought to the end to secure 1-0 win over Algeria and set up the second consecutive Ghana versus USA contest on Saturday.
Whether or not the growing rumors that President Obama will be in attendance to watch his side against Ghana is not a concern for the Black Stars right now. It will be an enthralling affair and one that is by no means a foregone conclusion. Perhaps the words of Richard Kingston on the eve of the World Cup kick off should be made the new team motto "we are here to win and make Ghana and Africa proud" Did he mean the World Cup or should we just wait and see?
