The Black Stars look poised to take on Cameroon. The overall head to head reads: 2 wins for Cameroon, 3 draws and 3 wins for Ghana.
However, in recent meetings, the Black Stars have been unable to get the upper hand of their Cameroonian counterparts – in 2008, Cameroon defeated Ghana 2-0, derailing Ghana’s host and win ambition and in 2017, Cameroon defeated Ghana 2-0, eliminating Ghana at the semi-final stage.
Ahead of the game, there is pessimism and lots of “I don’t careism” from many Ghanaians. Well, we can’t fault them for their “lack of faith” – the Black Stars failed to win against the less fancied Benin, drawing 2-2.
However, the Black Stars are not new to turning doubters into believers.
EonlineGH.com brings you four occasions where the Black Stars defied all odds and won the hearts of Ghanaians as well as other football loving folks:
1.Ghana 2 – 0 Czech Republic
The Black Stars began their maiden World Cup appearance with a 0-2 loss to Italy. In their next game against Czech Republic (who were ranked 5th at the time), there was general disbelief……but the Black Stars had other ideas. Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari netted as Ghana won the game 2-0.
2. Ghana 6 – 1 Egypt
Ghana romped to a 6-1 victory over Egypt at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in the 2014 WC qualifiers. Asamoah Gyan scored twice, W. Gomaa scored an own goal, Majid Warris, Christian A Sulley Muntari and Christian Atsu got on the score sheet with M. Aboutriaka grabbing the consolation goal for the Pharoahs.
3. Ghana 2 – 2 Germany
The Black Stars began their 2014 WC with an unexpected 2-1 loss to U.S.A and were to face European giants, Germany in their next game. “Omu b3 shy3 y3n bebreey” which means we will lose by a large margin was the song on the lips of most Ghanaians. The Black Stars had other ideas – in what was largely regarded as the match of the tournament, the Black Stars played out a pulsating 2-2 draw with the Germans – with Germany’s Miroslav Klose scoring a late equaliser.
4. Ghana 2 – 1 Nigeria 
It was CAN 2008. The venue for this highly anticipated quarter-final clash was the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra. Nigeria took the lead through Yakubu Ayibeni’s penalty when John Mensah brought down Peter Odemwingie. The home crowd was stunned – Ghana was not only a goal down but a man down, too! Then on the stroke of half time, Michael Essien powered in a bullet header to draw the game level. Then in the 82nd minute, the ladies’ man, Junior Agogo stabbed home a brilliant delivery from Sulley Ali Muntari. The fans went wild at the final whistle.
The multimillion dollar question remains – will the Black Stars emerge victorious against Cameroon? Will the Stars turn up as they have done in previous time even when the nation had thrown up the towel? Only time will tell.
Source: EonlineGH.com/ Baiden Gideon
