The only African side to get out of the group stage at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and the first to qualify for South Africa 2010, Ghana are anxious to prove themselves as the cream of the continent. Though this will be only their second appearance at the finals, the Black Stars have enjoyed considerable success at all levels of international football. They have won four CAF African Cup of Nations titles, though none since 1982, as well as two FIFA U-17 World Cups, and they became the first African team to lift the FIFA U-20 World Cup when they beat Brazil on penalties in October 2009. With added experience since their 2006 adventure, where they lost to Italy and Brazil but beat the Czech Republic and USA, Ghana are set to be a major threat at Africa's first FIFA World Cup.
The road to South Africa
Ghana guaranteed their place in the finals after going unbeaten through their opening four matches of the final round. They did not concede a goal in the group until a shock 1-0 defeat at Benin, but that came after they had already qualified. The key stretch for the west Africans came in June 2009 when they won 2-0 away to both Mali and Sudan, with Germany 2006 veteran Matthew Amoah scoring a goal in the first match and both in the second. Ironically, Ghana were shakier in the previous round of qualifying, only topping the group on goal difference over Gabon and Libya after losing a match to both teams.
The star players
Although Ghana lack the attacking firepower of many African sides, they rely most prominently on a world class midfield led by Michael Essien. The Chelsea man usually pairs with Sulley Muntari and captain Stephen Appiah to form a formidable engine room capable of both stifling attacks and creating them. Two of the trio Asamoah Gyan, Junior Agogo and Matthew Amoah usually operate in attack, while the England-based duo of John Mensah and John Paintsil keep the back tight in front of another Premier League player, goalkeeper Richard Kingson.
The coach
With Claude Le Roy's departure after a relatively disappointing third-place finish at the 2008 Cup of Nations on home soil, Milovan Rajevac took over leadership of the Black Stars. A former defender that played his career in Yugoslavia, the Serbian was best known for a brief coaching stint with Red Star Belgrade as well as leading perennial Serbian strugglers FK Borac to their first-ever qualification for a European tournament.
Record
- Ghana were the youngest team at Germany 2006, with an average age of just under 24 years.
- Asamoah Gyan scored the fastest goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup after 68 seconds in their 2-1 win over Czech Republic. It was also Ghana's first-ever goal in the finals.
- Ghana lost 3-0 to Brazil in the second round of Germany 2006, but they were without the talismanic Michael Essien, who was suspended.
What they said
"This team is very hungry to play in the finals again. My players are aware of what they can achieve, and we have the quality to go far. I am very confident about the future," Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac.
- Source: Fifa.com
About the National Flag of Ghana
History and meaning
The flag was officially hoisted 1957.03.06, replaced shortly with version with white middle stripe 1964.01.01 to 1966.02.28, when this flag was reintroduced. The flag is national flag on land and state ensign. Proportions 2:3.
Željko Heimer, 04 Jul 1996
The Album 2000 says:
1. National Flag. CSW/-SW 2:3
and shows a 2:3 red over yellow over green tricolour with black star in the yellow stripe touching the edges of the other two stripes. A note to the figure explains that the presidential flag is the same, only with golden fringe.
Željko Heimer, 08 Oct 2001
According to the official site, the flag designer was a Ghanian, Mrs. Theodosia Salome Okoh
Dov Gutterman, 13 Mar 2002
It uses Pan-African colours, with black star for being the first independent African nation of the 20th century.
David Kendall, 01 Oct 1996
According to Smith [smi75b], «the green-white-red horizontal of the ruling Convention Peoples’ Party and the green-yellow-red of Africa’s oldest independent nation (Ethiopia) combined to inspire Ghana’s flags.»
Ivan Sache, 26 Jun 1999
The flag of Ghana consists of red, gold and green horizontal strips with a five pointed black star in the centre of the gold stripe. The color red represents the blood of those who died in the country’s struggle for independence: gold stands for the minerals wealth, while green symbolizes the rich forest. The star represents the lonestar of African freedom.
Dov Gutterman, 19 Dec 1998, quoting from Johnston’s page
On 23 November 1958 a Ghana-Guinea Union was formed with a flag like that of Ghana but with two black stars.
Mark Sensen, 20 Jun 2000
Flag related national anthem lyrics
The national anthem of Ghana mentions the flag and the black star in its third stanza:
Raise high the flag of Ghana,
And one with Africa advance;
Black Star of hope and honour,
To all who thirst for liberty;
Where the banner of Ghana freely flies,
May the way to freedom truly lie
Source: Johnston’s page (the source says «Where the naner of Ghana freely flies», but I assumed "banner" was intended and corrected the text accordingly).
Ivan Sache, 22 Apr 2002
Location of Ghana on the World Map
World Cup 2010 Games where you can see the Ghana Team in action:
| Match 8 | 13/06/2010 16:00 | Tshwane/Pretoria Stadium | Ghana vs | Serbia |
| Match 24 | 19/06/2010 16:00 | Rustenburg Stadium
| Ghana vs | Australia |
| Match 39 | 23/06/2010 20:30
| Johannesburg JSC Stadium | Ghana vs | Germany |
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Cameroon
Chile
Côte d'Ivoire
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Honduras
Italy
Japan
Korea DPR
Korea Republic
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Paraguay
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
United States
Uruguay
