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Ghana Vrs Germany: The Black Stars Held Group Leader-Germany to a Thrilling 2-2 Draw

Ghana-captain-Asamoah-Gyan-n

 

The tension filled clash was a see-saw of emotions for Ghanaian fans, as Germany took the lead through a Mario Gotze header. A slight turnaround saw the Black Stars take the lead after Gyan turned in a sweet low strike to complement Ayew’s headed equaliser; but it was short-lived as substitute Miroslav Klose scored within a minute of coming on to equal Ronaldo’s all time world cup record of 15 goals.

The must win clash for the Stars kicked off at 19:00 GMT, with the result to be a huge determinant in the fortune of the Black Stars going forward.

Coach Kwesi Appiah, who has come in for tons of criticism following the opening day loss to USA; made three changes to his side in an attempt to get the win at the 2nd time of asking.

Prince Boateng and Harrison Afful came on for Jordan Ayew and Daniel Opare, whilst in goal Fatau Dauda took over from Adam Kwarasey.

A dour first ten minutes was largely dominated by the Germans, who calmly kept possession and tried to draw the Stars out of their shell but the Ghanaians remained resolute in maintaining men behind the ball.

It didn’t take long for Germany to threaten, Benedikt Howedes getting behind the Stars high line, but his low cross was beat away by Jonathan Mensah.

The Black Stars also made their presence felt in the game, with Sulley Muntari’s long cross field pass picking up Christian Atsu; but his low cross was fired way over the bar by skipper Asamoah Gyan.

Germany was still hording the bulk of possession, with the Stars content to sit back, soak the pressure, and try to hit Germany on the break.

After some neat interplay, Ozil laid a pass from the right to Kroos just outside the box, but the Bayern Munich midfielder’s shot was calmly blocked by Jonathan Mensah, whilst almost immediately at the other end Atsu’s fierce low drive had to be parried away by Manuel Neuer in the first real moment of desperation for the German defence.

Ghana continued that mini spell with a cross from Ayew swept away from Gyan by Mertesacker at the last moment.

The Stars defensive play was solid and disrupted Germany’s flow, but occasionally Ozil got clear to lay passes for Muller and Kroos beside him.

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Ghana Vrs Germany Match Preview: Must Win Game for Black Stars Against Group G Top Dogs

Ghana Black Stars
Ghana Black Stars

The Black Stars must defeat Group G leaders-Germany if the side harbours any hopes of making it to the second round of the world cup for the third successive tournament.

The Black Stars lost their first game 2-1 against the USA, precipitating the relabeling of this game from ‘an any result would fly’ game to a must win game.

The loss really was a setback for the Black Stars, as the side considered the ‘weakest’ in the group picked up the victory over Ghana; and now to progress the team must find a way past European heavyweights Germany and Portugal.

However if the progress of the world cup so far has taught us anything, it is that possessing the status of being top dogs is not in itself indicative of top dog status.

That’s the lesson defending champions Spain are being forced to digest this day, after losing their first two games which guaranteed their elimination and rendered their tag of defending champions meaningless far earlier than they must have planned for.

Thus the Black Stars must feel they can take on Germany toe-to-toe, which is precisely the attitude they need to get the needed result out of Die Mannschaft…

Germany won their first Group game 4-0 against Portugal with a hat-trick from Thomas Muller, and a win against Ghana would all but guarantee their passage to the next round of the competition.

For their part the Black Stars have to rectify the tactical and technical errors that led to the 2-1 humbling at the hands of the United States, from the playing body all the way up to head coach Kwesi Appiah.

By this time Kwesi Appiah must have realised his unorthodox (senseless) decision to play Kwadwo Asamoah at left-back is a detriment to the team’s forward play. With Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Opare, and Harrison Afful in the team, it borders on criminality to waste a dynamite talent like Kwadwo on defensive duty.

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Ghana Vrs Germany: What You Need to Know About Black Stars’ Next World Cup Opponents-Germany (Die Mannschaft)

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On Saturday night at 19:00 GMT, the Black Stars of Ghana will go up against the might of Germany. Here’s a profile of the German team, Die Mannschaft.

There are some great nicknames in world football, whether club or country. Personally, there isn’t one I like pronouncing more than Die Mannschaft. I speak no Deutsch, but the name has a way of rolling of one’s tongue. The awesomeness of the name is only matched by the awesomeness of the national side it describes.

The German football team, like Germany herself, has a storied history. The team has played in the past as both East and West Germany, with their records being synchronised following the fall of the Berlin wall. This creates one of the most decorated sides in world football, and it is that might that the Black Stars has to contend with if they are to qualify from Group G.

Germany has won three FIFA world cup trophies, more than any other side not named Brazil or Italy. More impressive is their haul of three European Championships, a feat not matched by any side on the continent. By comparison, Italy with their four world cup trophies has only one European championship crown.

Germany was one of the earliest sides to qualify from Europe for the mundial, comfortably topping their group ahead of Sweden, Austria, and the Republic of Ireland. Their first game, a 4-0 demolition of fellow group favourites Portugal, should put the Black Stars on alert for what to expect from the fabled ‘German machine’.

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