IN THE ACCRA DAILY MAIL, comparisons were made with the day that independence was granted on March 6, 1957. That is some statement, but, to judge from the scenes of euphoric celebration that were beamed around the world from Ghana yesterday, there is little like arriving on the global football stage when it comes to raising a nation’s self-esteem.
On Saturday in Cologne, Ghana arrived. That is not to dismiss the sporting tradition of a country that has won the African Nations Cup four times, that won an Olympic football bronze medal in 1992 and has produced players such as Abedi Pelé, Tony Yeboah and Samuel Kuffour, but the 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic signified something more, something that goes far beyond the ramifications for this tournament.
Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of independent Ghana, frequently declared that “sporting success gives dignity and pride to a country”. When the national team embarked on a tour of Europe in 1960, he sent them off with a demand that they “correct the prejudices that exist in European minds”. Sadly, many of those prejudices remained far beyond the dawn of the post-colonial era, but on Saturday, finally, Ghana’s footballers achieved those twin goals of earning national pride and commanding international recognition.
For Yeboah, returning to the country where he spent much of his career before a successful spell at Leeds United, it was highly emotional. “This is such a big moment for Ghana,” he said. “It is wonderful for the people and for the boys. We have shown that we can play against the best in the world and I think that it sets the standard for the rest of the competition for us.”
The complexities of group E are such that Ghana’s progress into the knockout stages is far from certain, but the World Cup will be richer for their continued involvement, even if at the expense of Italy or the Czechs. That is not said in order to patronise or to suggest simply that an African team will bring a more exotic flavour to the knockout stages; no, Ghana’s football, in terms of philosophy and bravery as well as technique, has illuminated this tournament.
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Their performance on Saturday was breathtaking. Africa has enjoyed some great moments in recent World Cups — Senegal’s victory over France in 2002, Nigeria’s defeat of Spain four years earlier, the success of Cameroon in 1990 — but this was on a different level, a display of attacking verve that would have been heralded as the best of the tournament had it not been for Argentina’s destruction of Serbia and Montenegro the previous day.
If Argentina’s victory at times felt like an exhibition, this was a real football match, but one that the “Black Stars” of Ghana managed to dominate. According to Fifa’s rankings, the Czechs are the second-strongest team in the world behind Brazil, but they were overwhelmed. Karel Bruckner, their veteran coach, put it simply. “We couldn’t cope,” he said.
But for the heroics of Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper, the Czech Republic would have been beaten out of sight. As it was, Ghana struggled to add to Asamoah Gyan’s second-minute goal, but that did not stop them surging forward, with Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari outstanding creative influences.
Gyan, another who excelled, struck a penalty against the post midway through the second half, with Tomas Ujfalusi sent off for the foul, but he was to miss several more chances before Muntari made the result safe with eight minutes remaining.
The final whistle brought joyous scenes and a show of mutual appreciation between Ghana’s players and a Cologne public that had taken them to heart. Back home on the streets of Accra, it was no doubt rather more frenzied, but all in the best possible spirit, such is the unifying power of football.