This is my assessment of the Ghanaian squad after the first match. Starting from the goalkeeper:
Richard Kingston - he was very weaK in the air a fundamental flaw of Ghanaian goalkeepers. Did well in saving Ghana from conceding three more goals. He is good from close range but must certainly work on his aerial ability. Hasn?t got a future in European football because he did not sell himself well.
Rating- 6.1
John Painstil - I am not a great admirer of this player but he proved that he has the necessary skill to become a great full back. His movement up and down the field was good. However, he needs to work on his final delivery.
Rating- 6.2
Emmanuel Pappoe - Really impressed the British commentators but it was unfortunate that he came off for reasons not well known. Should have scored the first goal of the match but his inexperience and the fact that he is playing in a non-competitive league reflected on his skill. Ghana needs a natural left footer for this position.
Rating- 6.1
Sammy Kuffuor - the culprit for the second goal. He was lucky to have stayed on the pitch. Didn?t perform very well and he is certainly coming to the end of the road. The mistake committed was unpardonable from a player of his calibre. Probably this may be his last major tournament. Should be able to bounce back in the next game. The first goal scored against Ghana was as a result of pure lack of concentration which he could have helped prevent by organising the defence. He was seen gasping for breath on numerous occasions.
Rating- 6
John Mensah- played his heart out and does not deserve to be on a losing side. Strong in the air. Certainly an asset for the next years to come.
Rating -6.5
Eric Addo- Didn?t see much of this boy. He seems to lack some form of confidence and kept sending the ball back when we had to move forward. Lost the ball in some dangerous areas
Ratings - 5.5
Michael Essien- was a little quiet in the first half but showed his dominance in the second half. Stephen Appiah?s constant movement on the pitch at times left the midfield open for him alone but was absolutely powering in the second half. If john mensah didn?t deserve to be in the losing side Essien shouldn?t be named among losers. Won the heart of Martin O? Neil could still be better.
Rating - 7.47
Stephen Appiah- Energetic and is everywhere the ball is. Was criticised by the experts like the Former Celtic coach Martin O? Neil for leaving the midfield too opened by his constant movement causing Michael Essien to be exposed in the first half. Nevertheless , he is a powerhouse and did a lot. Well done but can do better.
Rating - 7.06
Matthew Amoah- Didn?t see much of him but you cannot blame him the Italian defence were too good for him. Can be sensational against the Czech but needs to put himself into the game. Ratings- 6.0
Asamoah Gyan- unlucky not to have gotten a penalty, it would have changed the pattern of the game. His contribution in the last third of the field was awful. He can do better by passing the ball and creating room for himself. Can score against Czech. All is not lost yet. Scoring against USA is definite.
Rating - 6.14
Sulley Muntari- energetic but did not shine today. He over indulged himself in unnecessary dribbling and always lost the ball. Remember it was one of his faulty passes that resulted in the second goal. Kuffour cannot take all the blame.
Rating- 6.0
Illiasu- Was a waste of space. I don?t know what he came to do on the field. Should not feature against Czechs or we are dead.
Ratings -3.8
Pimpong- was always running had very little time to impress.
Ratings- 5.5
Alex Tachie- Menson- what did the coach think of when he brought him on when it was three minutes to go.
Ratings -4
Doya- his approach to the game was okay. If we had played this way in the AFRICAN cup. Would have preferred Sammy Adjei in post that is my only criticism. I don?t think we can make the semi- finals as he predicted. Should go all out to beat the Czech to still be in the tournament. Whatever the case is he must be kept.
Rating- 6.6
Team: we had more ball possession than the Italians and it is good but in the next game we must be able to translate this into goals. We can beat the Czechs only believe.
Ghanaians don?t loose heart we wanted to be in the world and we?ve made it. We were not disgraced and we did ourselves proud. No witch haunting and lets get back to support Sammy Kuffour it is not time to turn our backs on him after all we got him into the squad with our votes.
Solomon Darkwa -London (aka solo -uk)
