Angola v Ghana: Preview

January 23rd, 2010 | by: kiko | Comments(1)

Angola will open the quarter-finals stage with a match against the “motors” of Ghana.

The Palancas Negras will be hoping to reach the Semi-finals of the African Nations Cup for the first time in its history. As hosts, they will hold a key advantage due to the support of their fans.

Flavio and Zuela are still not a 100% fit and are doubtful for the match.

Meanwhile, Ghana will be fired up after beating Burkina Faso in their last group match.

The Palancas Negras manager Manuel Jose, was quick to rubbish reports claiming that Ghana’s youthful squad is inexperienced. Manuel Jose pointed out that “Ghana’s inexperience is nothing but a good story… Just look at the teams they play for!“.

He is absolutely right in that sense. If we are to look at the teams that the Angolans represent and the Ghanaians represent, we will find that the “youths” of Ghana are in more stable teams and play in more competitive leagues.

This is not to mention that Ghana play like they are powered by engines. They are very fast and agile (probably the fastest team in the competition).
Ghana’s biggest problem is their inability to take chances. They create many chances but often dont make it count.

Angola and Ghana met 2 months ago in Portugal, with the match ending 0-0.
This time, however, Angola will have more to play for and will give it their all to come out on top of this encounter.

Ghana, on the other hand, do not lack motivation. As I write this, Ghana fans are probably boiling with anger at reports of an assault on one of their fans. According to some sources, the fan was accused of practicing voodoo or another unknown ritual, which he believed would give his team an advantage.

Whatever the reason, it is unacceptable that this is happening at all. The police assaulting an opposing fan for practicing voodoo, is as ridiculous as it could get!
If voodoo or other rituals changed the outcome of matches, countries with that culture would win World Cups!

It is also sad to see so many negative events happening at this Nations Cup.
It does not feel good to beat a team knowing that they have a ready made excuse in case of loss.

The country’s image is also taking a battering. I would not be surprised if an individual located abroad believes that Angola is a battlefield infested with pesky rebels and crazy policemen.

In reality, Angola is much better than these events portray, although the average football fan could almost be excused of thinking otherwise.

My Prediction: Tough and balanced match ending- Angola 2-1 Ghana