Ghana's Black Stars are aiming to be third-time lucky this evening as they play hosts Equatorial Guinea in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the Malabo Stadium.
It is the first time the two sides are meeting at any level in Nations Cup history, but the Ghanaians have reached the semis since 2008 and even made it past the penultimate round at the 2010 tournament in Angola. However, this evening the Stars hope to end the host team’s fairytale run and inch closer to a dream fifth continental title.
Despite facing a side without much history in African football, the Stars cannot afford to be complacent as the Nzalang Nacionales or ‘National Thunder’ have defied the odds to get this far, dumping 2004 African champions Tunisia along the way albeit under controversial circumstances.
The Stars have experience, boast big-name players and may be considered favourites after thumping Guinea 3-0 with a performance which bolstered their credentials as one of the tournament favourites, but they come against a side growing in confidence and will have the backing of an entire nation, including their head of state, President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has hosted the Nzalang Nacionales twice this week as a way of motivating them.
The surprise side of the competition, the host team, pose a big threat to the ambitions of the four- time champions in tonight’s clash, having enjoyed an unbeaten run in the tournament before their controversial 2-1 comeback win over Tunisia in the quarter-finals.
They will be counting on spirited performance by their hard-working captain, Lopez Nsue, who plays for English side Middlesborough and with inspiration from exuberant Argentine coach, Esteban Becker, who had barely a month to put his team together.
It is this hard work and fairytale run that the host team hope to build on when they face the Stars this evening.
"There is always a first time for everything and this is our time. We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but we can do more against Ghana. On paper and in the records, they are the clear favourites. But in football, records do not really matter and we are ready to take our chances against the favourites," Coach Becker said yesterday at a pre-match press conference.
Without the benefit of any previous meeting, the two sides only have book knowledge about each other, apart from taking time to watch clips of their matches at this competition, with Coach Becker admitting they are wary of the Stars because of how they have crafted their way through at this competition, beating Algeria and South Africa at the group stage and then completely dominating their match with Guinea at the quarter-finals.
Ghana coach Avram Grant is not looking at the records either, insisting his charges will continue to do what they have done since their campaign began.
The Israeli has guided the Stars to a progressive improvement in performance and believes they will take it up further in this game, refusing the tag that they are favourites in this game, and remaining elusive of the impact the availability or absence of his injured captain, Asamoah Gyan, will have on the team's psyche.
"Records only serve as a guide and do not play matches. At this point, we have to find a way of getting past that semi-final hurdle which seem to have been our nemesis in previous tournaments. Playing against a host nation is not an easy task so we cannot be the favourites. We have to have a game plan and ‘Plan B’ for every situation and that is what we will do.
