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Ghana shocked the world on Tuesday, June 23, when it drew 0-0 with England at Boston Stadium.
The result earned Ghana a crucial fourth point in group-stage play, which has almost guaranteed the Black Stars a spot in the knockout round. The last time the Black Stars made it out of the group stage was in 2010, when a Luis Suárez handball in the quarterfinals prevented them from being the first African team to make the World Cup semifinals.
So, let’s look back at Ghana’s run in 2010 to see if there are any similarities between the two.
The Black Stars were ranked 32nd in the world in the last official FIFA rankings before the World Cup. They would be placed in Group D with Germany, Australia and Serbia, who were ranked sixth, 20th and 15th, respectively, in those same rankings. In comparison, Ghana was ranked 73rd before this year’s World Cup, and its Group L opponents, England, Croatia and Panama, were ranked fourth, 11th and 34th, respectively.
A slightly weaker group in this World Cup, but overall, pretty similar with two top-15 teams in the group. The significant difference is Ghana’s sharp decline in ranking.
A funny coincidence, the groups are similarly structured 16 years apart, but so much time has passed that that’s likely the only similarity.
Mark Twain famously said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
In 2010, Ghana defeated Serbia 1-0 in its opening match after 24-year-old striker Asamoah Gyan scored on a penalty kick in the 85th minute. This year, Ghana defeated Panama 1-0 in its opening match after 20-year-old midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored in the final moments of stoppage time.
So, Ghana wins its opening match by the same score thanks to its young star coming up clutch in the final minutes of play. “That doesn’t mean history is repeating,” you may be saying to yourself.
Fair enough.
In Ghana’s second group stage game 16 years ago, it drew 1-1 against a top-20 team in the world, Australia, to earn a crucial fourth point. On June 23, the Black Stars drew 0-0 against a top-five team in the world, England, to earn a crucial fourth point.
Ghana has yet to play its final group stage game, which is against Croatia on June 27, yet there are still some similarities to be shown.
Croatia was considered one of the best teams in the field prior to the World Cup, just like Germany was 16 years ago. Ghana had pretty much guaranteed itself a spot in the 2010 knockout round, barring a blowout of three or more goals, but still had a chance to win the group if it won. This year, Ghana has also pretty much guaranteed itself a spot in the knockout round, barring a blowout of three or more goals, but still has a chance to win the group with a victory.
Croatia, like Germany, is fighting for qualification into the knockout round, with its last match of group play being against Ghana. Germany had just three points in group play after two matches, like Croatia, but unlike Croatia, it doesn’t have the safety net of being able to finish in third place and still make the knockout stage. It needed to tie or win against Ghana to guarantee qualification.
Ghana will face Croatia at 5 p.m. Saturday in Philadelphia.
Croatia currently sits in third place in Group L with three points and a negative-one differential. A tie will still place the team in third but with enough points to be one of the top-eight third-place finishers. A win guarantees Croatia’s qualification by finishing in the top two of the group.
Expect Ghana to deploy the same tactics against Croatia that it did against England, a strong defensive formation that will create only a couple of offensive chances for the Black Stars throughout the 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, Croatia will be attacking the net as much as possible to sneak a goal past a Ghanaian defense that has yet to allow a goal.
According to Football Meets Data’s projected bracket, Ghana’s path back to the quarterfinals would be a Round of 32 matchup against Colombia, and a Round of 16 matchup against either Canada or Algeria. Those matchups are subject to change as the final group stage matchups kick off this week.
The Round of 32 is a new addition to the World Cup after FIFA expanded the pool of teams from 32 to 48, so there’s no comparison to be made there. But there is once again another coincidence if you compare Ghana’s first knockout round matchup in 2010 against the United States and the projected matchup against Colombia. The United States was ranked 14th prior to the 2010 World Cup. Colombia was ranked 12th prior to this year.
The Black Stars would once again be facing a significantly higher-ranked opponent in their first matchup of the knockout rounds.
So, will Mark Twain be proven right once again?
I don’t know, but neither does anyone. That’s the beauty of the World Cup. We have seen time and time again, David triumph over Goliath, but the inverse is also true, as Goliath has pummeled David over and over again during the 90 minutes.
So, until it’s settled on the field, there’s nothing to do but sit, wait and speculate.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ghana World Cup run mirrors 2010 success
Continue reading...
The result earned Ghana a crucial fourth point in group-stage play, which has almost guaranteed the Black Stars a spot in the knockout round. The last time the Black Stars made it out of the group stage was in 2010, when a Luis Suárez handball in the quarterfinals prevented them from being the first African team to make the World Cup semifinals.
So, let’s look back at Ghana’s run in 2010 to see if there are any similarities between the two.
The Black Stars were ranked 32nd in the world in the last official FIFA rankings before the World Cup. They would be placed in Group D with Germany, Australia and Serbia, who were ranked sixth, 20th and 15th, respectively, in those same rankings. In comparison, Ghana was ranked 73rd before this year’s World Cup, and its Group L opponents, England, Croatia and Panama, were ranked fourth, 11th and 34th, respectively.
A slightly weaker group in this World Cup, but overall, pretty similar with two top-15 teams in the group. The significant difference is Ghana’s sharp decline in ranking.
A funny coincidence, the groups are similarly structured 16 years apart, but so much time has passed that that’s likely the only similarity.
Mark Twain famously said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
In 2010, Ghana defeated Serbia 1-0 in its opening match after 24-year-old striker Asamoah Gyan scored on a penalty kick in the 85th minute. This year, Ghana defeated Panama 1-0 in its opening match after 20-year-old midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored in the final moments of stoppage time.
So, Ghana wins its opening match by the same score thanks to its young star coming up clutch in the final minutes of play. “That doesn’t mean history is repeating,” you may be saying to yourself.
Fair enough.
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In Ghana’s second group stage game 16 years ago, it drew 1-1 against a top-20 team in the world, Australia, to earn a crucial fourth point. On June 23, the Black Stars drew 0-0 against a top-five team in the world, England, to earn a crucial fourth point.
Ghana has yet to play its final group stage game, which is against Croatia on June 27, yet there are still some similarities to be shown.
Croatia was considered one of the best teams in the field prior to the World Cup, just like Germany was 16 years ago. Ghana had pretty much guaranteed itself a spot in the 2010 knockout round, barring a blowout of three or more goals, but still had a chance to win the group if it won. This year, Ghana has also pretty much guaranteed itself a spot in the knockout round, barring a blowout of three or more goals, but still has a chance to win the group with a victory.
Croatia, like Germany, is fighting for qualification into the knockout round, with its last match of group play being against Ghana. Germany had just three points in group play after two matches, like Croatia, but unlike Croatia, it doesn’t have the safety net of being able to finish in third place and still make the knockout stage. It needed to tie or win against Ghana to guarantee qualification.
Ghana vs. Croatia
Ghana will face Croatia at 5 p.m. Saturday in Philadelphia.
Croatia currently sits in third place in Group L with three points and a negative-one differential. A tie will still place the team in third but with enough points to be one of the top-eight third-place finishers. A win guarantees Croatia’s qualification by finishing in the top two of the group.
Expect Ghana to deploy the same tactics against Croatia that it did against England, a strong defensive formation that will create only a couple of offensive chances for the Black Stars throughout the 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, Croatia will be attacking the net as much as possible to sneak a goal past a Ghanaian defense that has yet to allow a goal.
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Can Ghana reach the quarterfinals?
According to Football Meets Data’s projected bracket, Ghana’s path back to the quarterfinals would be a Round of 32 matchup against Colombia, and a Round of 16 matchup against either Canada or Algeria. Those matchups are subject to change as the final group stage matchups kick off this week.
The Round of 32 is a new addition to the World Cup after FIFA expanded the pool of teams from 32 to 48, so there’s no comparison to be made there. But there is once again another coincidence if you compare Ghana’s first knockout round matchup in 2010 against the United States and the projected matchup against Colombia. The United States was ranked 14th prior to the 2010 World Cup. Colombia was ranked 12th prior to this year.
The Black Stars would once again be facing a significantly higher-ranked opponent in their first matchup of the knockout rounds.
So, will Mark Twain be proven right once again?
I don’t know, but neither does anyone. That’s the beauty of the World Cup. We have seen time and time again, David triumph over Goliath, but the inverse is also true, as Goliath has pummeled David over and over again during the 90 minutes.
So, until it’s settled on the field, there’s nothing to do but sit, wait and speculate.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ghana World Cup run mirrors 2010 success
Continue reading...
