England v Ghana: Jet-lagged but happy

.....Black Stars ready for their debut at Wembley Stadium

Those who fear the creeping erosion in importance of international football would have gained reassurance on Monday from a few hours in the company of the Ghana team.

After beating the Republic of Congo 3-0 in Brazzaville on Sunday evening, they travelled through the night to be in London on Monday morning and duly arrived for training a few hours later at Wembley after minimal sleep.
Yet there were no weary faces; just broad smiles and a buzz of excitement for a match regarded among the most important in their history. When you consider that Ghana were just one penalty from reaching the World Cup semi-finals last summer, you get a sense of the expectancy.
The contrast with England, who sent six of their players back to their clubs after the rather less arduous journey home from Cardiff on Saturday, is difficult to ignore.
“Everybody is expecting something positive,” said Asamoah Gyan, the Sunderland forward. “It is like a World Cup to Ghanaians because they have been looking forward to this game for a long time.”
This match matters to Ghana for a variety of reasons. They have never played England and, as the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from Great Britain (in 1957), the historic significance is obvious.
There is also the chance to become the first African team to defeat England, as well as a glistening Wembley shop window for many of their players who will want to join Richard Kingson, John Paintsil, John Mensah, Sulley Muntari and Gyan in the Premier League.
Yet above all, tonight’s match matters for national pride. The importance of international football in Africa was summed up by Gyan, who paid his own way to Congo-Brazzaville on Sunday even though he was suspended.
With 20,000 tickets sold for the official away end tonight, no away team at Wembley will have ever have received such support.

The one burning question, however, was whether there is resentment at England fielding what will largely be their reserve team? “We are playing against England but maybe some of the fans are there to see some of the big, big names,” said Gyan, who missed the penalty that would have secured victory over Uruguay in the World Cup quarter-final. “It is unfortunate they are not playing. It’s one of those things, I might be disappointed, but those facing Ghana are still in the national side. Maybe they are better than those that are out.”

Goran Stevanovic, Ghana’s Serbian coach, was equally unmoved. “I’m sure they did that because it is a friendly game, if it was an official game they wouldn’t have,” he said.

“We are playing against England, not one or two players. The players who start will be the best in England.”

An exceptional team spirit clearly underpinned Ghana’s success in South Africa. “The atmosphere in our camp is amazing,” Mensah said.

“We all sing together, African music, songs from our childhood in Ghana. When you join Ghana, you are not an individual, we play as a team. We thank God for what we did at the World Cup. We fought hard and worked hard as a team, we played like brothers. This is the first time Ghana played England so it is very important to us. It will be a historic match because if we win we make history.”

.....Black Stars ready for their debut at Wembley Stadium

Those who fear the creeping erosion in importance of international football would have gained reassurance on Monday from a few hours in the company of the Ghana team.

After beating the Republic of Congo 3-0 in Brazzaville on Sunday evening, they travelled through the night to be in London on Monday morning and duly arrived for training a few hours later at Wembley after minimal sleep.
Yet there were no weary faces; just broad smiles and a buzz of excitement for a match regarded among the most important in their history. When you consider that Ghana were just one penalty from reaching the World Cup semi-finals last summer, you get a sense of the expectancy.
The contrast with England, who sent six of their players back to their clubs after the rather less arduous journey home from Cardiff on Saturday, is difficult to ignore.
“Everybody is expecting something positive,” said Asamoah Gyan, the Sunderland forward. “It is like a World Cup to Ghanaians because they have been looking forward to this game for a long time.”
This match matters to Ghana for a variety of reasons. They have never played England and, as the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from Great Britain (in 1957), the historic significance is obvious.
There is also the chance to become the first African team to defeat England, as well as a glistening Wembley shop window for many of their players who will want to join Richard Kingson, John Paintsil, John Mensah, Sulley Muntari and Gyan in the Premier League.
Yet above all, tonight’s match matters for national pride. The importance of international football in Africa was summed up by Gyan, who paid his own way to Congo-Brazzaville on Sunday even though he was suspended.
With 20,000 tickets sold for the official away end tonight, no away team at Wembley will have ever have received such support.

The one burning question, however, was whether there is resentment at England fielding what will largely be their reserve team? “We are playing against England but maybe some of the fans are there to see some of the big, big names,” said Gyan, who missed the penalty that would have secured victory over Uruguay in the World Cup quarter-final. “It is unfortunate they are not playing. It’s one of those things, I might be disappointed, but those facing Ghana are still in the national side. Maybe they are better than those that are out.”

Goran Stevanovic, Ghana’s Serbian coach, was equally unmoved. “I’m sure they did that because it is a friendly game, if it was an official game they wouldn’t have,” he said.

“We are playing against England, not one or two players. The players who start will be the best in England.”

An exceptional team spirit clearly underpinned Ghana’s success in South Africa. “The atmosphere in our camp is amazing,” Mensah said.

“We all sing together, African music, songs from our childhood in Ghana. When you join Ghana, you are not an individual, we play as a team. We thank God for what we did at the World Cup. We fought hard and worked hard as a team, we played like brothers. This is the first time Ghana played England so it is very important to us. It will be a historic match because if we win we make history.”