The Black Stars of Ghana gave the nation a lot to cheer about in their last pre-World Cup preparatory game against the Rossocrociati of Switzerland, following an emphatic 2-0 win yesterday.
Apart from the fact that the Stars did the needful by scoring two unanswered crucial goals in the second half of the game, they looked so determined throughout the entire duration of the game.
For once, the act of faulty passes, lack of urgency and the absence of clear cut directions as to how to take on the opponents, which has characterised the Stars play in recent times, were completely absent.
The entire team appeared to be not just hungry for success but also played together as a unit and perhaps justified that they were indeed selected on merit to represent the country.
What gladdens the heart of the paper the most is the fact that quite apart from the starting eleven players, the bench looked so rich and enlivened with equally good players.
This means that the coach is spoiled for choice in any department of the game, with quality players who could live up to the billing and cause damage to any opposing side on any day.
The performance of the Stars, as displayed by the team yesterday, has alleviated the enormous fears that many soccer fans have had, especially looking at the opponents in our group.
The huge concerns by the Ghanaian fans probably stemmed from the shambolic display the team put up against both Brazil and Nicaragua, prior to the final friendly game yesterday.
As a matter of fact, the Stars looked bad in the eyes of many soccer loving fans across the country, particularly when we failed to annihilate Nicaragua, when Brazil humiliated us in our first friendly game to prepare for the Mundial.
However, a scintillating display by the team yesterday has sparked a new sense of great feeling among the general public that it is still possible for the Stars to raise high the flag of Ghana as previously done.
Though the Rossocrociati were the huge pre match favourites, the Stars calmly contained them as early as in the first half, matched them boot for boot and reduced them to an ordinary side, with no eminent threats.
The defensive backline built around imposing Mohamed Salisu, whose debut international goal opened the scores for the Stars, dealt decisively with every threat of the opponent.
The midfield looked so compact in the entire duration, which made it extremely difficult for the opponents to penetrate, while goalkeeper Ati-Zigi was very decisive and also impressive on the day to assuage our fears.
Though the harsh weather condition at the stadium appeared to have adversely affected the Swiss, we cannot take anything away from the Stars for executing the task to bring back the love to all Ghanaians, that they have arrived.
This is because the weather conditions in Qatar would not be extremely different from what was experienced yesterday.
The Chronicle would continue to urge the entire nation to bury any differences that might have come about as a result of the players selected for the tourney and fully rally behind the team at this crucial time when they need our support the most.
The Black Stars would open their campaign against Portugal in Group H on 24th November at the Stadium 974 (Rass Abou Aboud), as one of the proud representative of Africa at the Mundial for the fourth time.
We would like to call on all Ghanaians to see yesterday’s great performance by the Stars as beacon of hope and evidence that we are not just going to add to the numbers but to make our continent and nation proud.
Football continuous to be our passion and our game, therefore, let us bring back our love for the Stars and support them to lift high the national colours at the Mundial again.
