Four days after the latest heartbreak, Ghana’s Black Stars would return to action again in an AFCON 2025 qualifier, facing Niger in what will be a moment of redemption for the team.
The Black Stars would be coming on the back of a shocking 1-0 home loss to the Palancas Negras of Angola at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Thursday.
That ego-shattering defeat left Ghana in third position following wins by Niger and Kwesi Appiah’s Sudan, putting the Ghanaians in a tough must-win situation, else they risk missing the Morocco 2025 AFCON.
Call it a moment of redemption and one would not be far from right. Coach Otto Addo and his team perfectly understand the situation and are poised to return to winning ways today.
The Kumasi encounter exposed a Stars team that lacked ideas and cutting edge to penetrate a packed Angolan defence that also showed the ability to defend and counter swiftly.
Despite the dominance, Kudus Mohammed, Thomas Partey, Elisha Owusu and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku failed to find the space to provide for Jordan Ayew and Antoine Semenyo while the defence also caved in at a few times when the Angolans attacked.
The game against Niger may not be different despite harbouring similar ambitions as the Stars but knowing the Stars superiority in terms of player quality, they may adopt a strategy similar to the Angolans.
Niger has not been impressive in recent times and would also hope to revive their chances as far as qualification to the AFCON is concerned.
That would mean a Black Stars upset and they are motivated to go for the Jugular. A defeat over a crest-fallen Black Stars would not just put them in pole position for one of the slots available but cause a massive revival in their football in general.
As the home team, theY have the privilege of enjoying a massive support of their fans but that would still not guarantee an outright victory. They would have to play above themselves to secure the points.
However, the Black Stars ability to overcome the shock and approach the game with some freshness of minds would go a long way to determine whether they can brush the Nigeriens aside to secure their first win in the qualifiers.
The defeat notwithstanding, the Stars’ striker force of Jordan Ayew and Semenyo showed some promise which would be one of the positives to take into the game.
Maybe, Otto Addo might have to consider a reshuffle in the team and bring on new faces for players that failed to impress in the Angola tie.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
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