Comments on: Five lessons about WC opponent Ghana from ACN

By: gazz

gazz — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:12:39 +0000

yep they will be difficult to break down and the worry is I fancy theyll be better in attack with their star players back. but as Ben says, we need to win this one…..geez tough group!!

By: Froar

Froar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:10:22 +0000

We shouldn’t just be thinking it is good to qualify. Lets face it, our path to the WC was dead easy. Furthermore, even NZ qualified. We need to start progressing through the competition. Being there isn’t good enough in my mind.

By: whiskeymac

whiskeymac — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:02:27 +0000

alternatively there’s (Andy Harper’s view)… http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26661290-5019291,00.html

By: Macs.football

Macs.football — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:30:31 +0000

An extra note on Ben’s last sentence in point 4 about Ghana GK Richard Kingston. The Serb he mentions is actually Serbia’s first choice Gk Vladimir Stojkovic who has moved to Wigan on a 6 month loan from Sporting Lisbon to be a backup to 1st choice GK Chris Kirlkand. So unless Kirkland gets injured or has a major loss of form, with 5 months until the World Cup it looks like neither Ghana’s or Serbia’s 1st choice goalkeepers will be seeing any game time. Hopefully giving an advantage to Socceroos when we face either side.

Also if your interested hit the link to see a possible Serbia World Cup squad http://macaussiefootball.blogspot.com/2009/12/countdown-to-south-africa-spotlight-on_09.html

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:12:41 +0000

Also the fact that 2nd is better than 1st because that way we get to knock out the Poms

By: Australian Football

Australian Football — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:48:38 +0000

Ghana play in the final of the African Championships and a highlights package will be shown on TWG. I shall be tuned in, to have a sneak pre-view of their strengths.

~~~~~~
AF

By: Dogz R Barkn

Dogz R Barkn — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:19:26 +0000

Germany are slow starters?

They haven’t failed to get out of their group since the 1930s!!

It wasn’t long ago that they hammered the Saudis 8-0 in their very first game (and they’ve hammered other sides in the past in their opening game).

By: Realfootball

Realfootball — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:15:18 +0000

Rukavytsia had better keep on scoring goals. We are going to need something extra in South Africa to get out of that group. I don’t think it has been overhyped at all.

By: Froar

Froar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:09:16 +0000

We can surely beat two countries most Australians couldn’t point to on a map. Germany are slow starters so I think we will top the pool.

By: David V.

David V. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:00:56 +0000

Egypt win 3 in a row and still can’t make a World Cup through bad luck- it shows the real strength of Africa, which I feel is underrepresented at World Cups whereas other regions (CONCACAF and Asia) are overrepresented for their paucity.

By: whiskeymac

whiskeymac — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:39:42 +0000

without a doubt. to be there is brilliiant, to compete is even better.

By: ItsCalledFootball

ItsCalledFootball — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:26:08 +0000

The bar has been lifted higher and we must improve to compete.

The WC is an enormous stimulus to lifting the standard of Australian football.

Playing in a World Cup is much better than playing friendlies against the Solomon Islands and waiting four years to try and beat Uruguay next time.

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:08:48 +0000

Obviously hasn’t heard of “the mozz”….unless he is a Ghana fan perhaps

By: whiskeymac

whiskeymac — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:44:46 +0000

Nice article Ben.
they have some great players with Muntari, Essien etc and from the sounds of it a wily coach. Will be an interestin’ game but i would probably be washing my feet before hand if i was you youqar, this is shaing up as a significantly harder proposition for our own aging/injured and “with less depth” ridden squad. One plus is Shwarzer – with him in goal there’s always a chance he’ll keep us in it. and if Cahill maintains his form and health playing there’s a chance we might nick a result.

By: youqar

youqar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:38:43 +0000

Australia will walk all over them. If Australia doesn’t make the next round Ill eat my foot. Far too much hype about our pool.

By: SAM

SAM — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:30:41 +0000

Very insightful.The coach took a big gamble and it nearly paid off. But the Africa Cup and the World Cup are two different ball games. Ghana cannot play defensive and go far at the World Cup. The coach Milo is too defensive-minded and the Egyptian scorer punished Ghana five minutes to time. Traditionally, Ghana plays attacking soccer and not this dour defensive game. The coach must balance the game plan of Ghana. You are right, Ghana has a deep depth of talents to build a strong squad.Now, all players will work hard to fight for a position in the team. Ghana’s attack is not very strong and the coach must try again to recruit Italian/Ghanaian Mario Balotelli.