Jerome Otchere writes: Fine group for Ghana

Some people still say they wouldn’t credit the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for anything regarding the Black Stars’ qualification for the Qatar 2022 World Cup because they were forced to take certain decisions that secured our place at the tourney.

Fans’ outcry, they argue, moved the GFA’s hands to dismiss Coach Milovan Rajevac who supervised our unprecedented 2021 AFCON failure. And but for his sacking and the reconstitution of the Black Stars management committee, all triggered by public agitation, our Qatar dream would’ve crashed.

Whether or not the GFA were compelled by public pressure against the coach and the Management committee, I believe we all accept that, a change of technical direction and management of affairs were necessary ingredients for a revived Black Stars.

The resuscitated Black Stars have thus given us a fourth World Cup appearance. The media have been reporting in detail the draw in Doha, which was watched nationwide on various television channels. Indeed, public conversations have been dominated by the draw with dramatic shot in confidence in the Black Stars and their managers. 

That’s why after Friday’s draw, which saw Ghana in group H alongside Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea; we’ve all been enthusiastic, expecting a showdown with Uruguay’s Luis Suarez – recalling events of South Africa 2010 – where the Uruguayan star stopped a goal bound shot with his hand resulting in his red card and a Black Stars penalty which Asamoah Gyan painfully wasted in the quarterfinal game. 

Ghana could’ve been the first African nation to be a World Cup semifinalist had Gyan scored. Can the Black Stars make it out of group H and make big impact? At this point, good preparation should be our preoccupation. Taking firm decisions on the future of our technical team, casting the net wide in terms player scouting players and finally selecting the best of players should be key in our readiness for the competition. 

Black Stars beat top ranked teams in past World Cups and that was no fluke. It was as a result fantastic preparation. Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea are tough World Cup campaigners. South Korea for instance are technically gifted. Besides, teams in our group have notable players in various leagues but this is not the time to flaunt stars. 

Stars to make juicy imaginative talk. We’re seven months away. The need for excellent preparation can’t be overstated. The focus should be properly managing our campaign from here, learning from experiences of past appearances to reduce if not eliminate petty gaffes; assemble a formidable side ready to take on group H and the world combining fine play with proper team ethics that Ghanaians would appreciate.