A do or die match for Zambia

The permutations for the Ghana Vs Zambia game are very simple. Ghana needs a draw to qualify to the last round of the Brazil 2014 qualifier while Zambia requires maximum points to progress. That said the stage is set for Kumasi, some 500 kilometres away from the capital Accra and the reasons for taking this match there is because Ghana has been winning whenever they play there. In fact, the place itself has been dubbed the capital of football.

The Black Stars as the Ghanaian national soccer team is known have called all the key players for this match including those who had retired. Here I am talking about Chelsea’s Michael Essien whose last game for his country was in September 2011, Kevin Prince Boateng, the player who surprised many by moving away from Italy’s AC Milan to join Schalke in Germany and Andre Ayew, a player who stars for the French league one side Olympique Masseille. The Ghana team also boasts of young and exciting players in the likes of Christian Atsu who has just signed a five contract with Chelsea from FC Porto in Portugal and Assamoah Gyan who on a good day can be a thorn in the defence of any team. The inclusion of the three key players mentioned above underlines the seriousness with which the Black Stars are taking this match against the Chipolopolo Boys of Zambia. The danger though is that these players might cause some disturbances in the Ghana setup. This might also cause acrimony in the team especially if the regular players find themselves on bench. You look at yourself I have been with the team through thin and thick and then someone who was not there comes to take my place. This is the feeling going through some players.

Zambia goes into this encounter as underdogs when you compare the kind of talent on display for the Ghanaian team. This match itself is the main focus of the weekend’s qualifiers. The reasons for this are very simple. The two teams have an exciting set of players who play similar type of entertaining football. It is a match that everyone is talking about. The Ghanaians have every reason to respect the Zambian team that has beaten them in two key recent matches. The Chipolopolo Boys knocked out the Black Stars from the semi finals of the 2012 Africa Cup when the former beat the later 1-0. In the more recent encounter played at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia defeated Ghana by 1-0. When you look at these recent results, the Ghanaians have every reason to fear Zambia.

That aside, the match in Kumasi is likely to remain in the memory of many fans because Zambia is capable of upsetting the tables and make it to the last round of the World Cup qualifier. I did talk about some of the Ghana players but I didn’t mention any of the Zambian players. Let me do so. Zambia is going to be missing two key strikers, Collins Mbesuma of Orlando Pirates and FC Utrecht’s Jacob Mulenga, both are nursing injuries. This then means that the task of getting the much needed goals falls on the shoulders of Emmanuel Mayuka who moved on loan to a French team, new call up Rodger Kola and Fwayo Tembo. The midfield genius Rainford Kalaba of TP Mazembe who is slowly getting back to his old good form, Chisamba Lungu and Mukuka Mulenga can cause serious problems to the Ghana team. There is room also for skipper Christopher Katongo in the midfield to add the much needed stability in the team. The defence led by Stoppila Sunzu and Hichani Himonde is good enough to stop any threat from the Ghana strike force and Kennedy Mweene provides some experience needed for this match.

I did not want to waste much time talking about the intimidation that has preceded this encounter because I know football is played on the pitch and not in the board rooms. I wish to state though that there was no need for the team to come back for the prayers which they even missed. They could have connected to Ghana directly from South Africa where they were camping. The other confusion about the chartered plane being denied permission to land in Accra is just a symptom of the last minute arrangements on the part of the organisers. This could have been sorted out a very long time ago rather than on the day of departure. Let us not blame Ghana for this. What we should know is that emotions are normally very high for such encounters and tend to spill over.

Finally, I would say let the best team win but being a Zambian I would be much happier if we can beat Ghana at their own backyard. As you know football is a game which can sometimes produce shock results. Let us forget about all that has happened before this match and think about the game. I hope you will all enjoy the game. 

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