Ghana |
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This match has ended. Upcoming related matches:
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Australia |
| Country | Date/Time (US/Eastern) | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Sat, Jun 19 20:00pm | ESPN Classic |
| Australia | Sat, Jun 19 18:00pm | SBS Two Australia |
| Sat, Jun 19 22:00pm | SBS Two Australia | |
| Sun, Jun 20 12:00pm | SBS One Australia | |
| *Don't see your country or favourite channel listed? Let us know and we will include it. | ||
The Black Stars of Ghana are on the brink of becoming the first African nation to reach the last 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup which is staged in Africa. Will Pim Verbeek’s desperate Australians be their victims?
The statistic of African teams tells it all. The Black Stars of Ghana are certainly the Black Continent’s gifted children. Among Africa’s six representatives, the Ghanaians are the only ones to have found pride through victory. South Africa slipped to a 1-1 draw against Mexico in the opening game of the tournament, Nigeria bow downed to Argentina with a 1-0 defeat, Algeria and Cameroon disappointedly lost on the same score line to Slovenia and Japan respectively, and Cote d’Ivoire could only play out a goalless draw against Portugal to round up Match-day One on a sour note for Africans…
Only Ghana stood out above their continental brothers as they recorded a luckily deserved 1-0 victory over Serbia. Now things have gone worse for African hopefuls on Match-day Two with South Africa suffering a 3-0 hammering in the hands of Uruguay. Nigeria also got defeated 2-1 by Greece. Algeria, though, clinched the most respectful result by managing a 0-0 draw against European top seeds England in Group C.
So the Black Stars of Ghana have once again been left with the opportunity of spreading joy among African football lovers with a win against Australia on Saturday. Fans back home are confident of the Black Stars’ success on Saturday afternoon. But who said that the Australians, who lost 4-0 against Germany on Match-day One, will not emulate Serbia’s feat by shocking Ghana and thus leave Group D wide open?
For Ghana’s captain, Steven Appiah, the doors are open for his side to enter the Round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup. The Black Stars are yet to taste victory against the Socceroos, but they remain confident ahead of Saturday’s encounter – which will mark their third ever meeting against Australia.
“We stand a very good chance, we are in a very good position and we are all very excited about it,” the skipper said.
“We respect Australia. They are a very good side, even though they got beaten by such a margin by Germany. But we will go there and do our best.”
Amid the fact that there have been no reported injuries from Ghana’s camp, there should also be a boost of confidence with crocked star Michael Essien set to offer his support to the Black Stars by attending their match against Australia.

With no point and without the services of Cahill, the Australians will have to bring the Black Stars down on earth. Pim Verbeek’s men suffered total humiliation against Germany last weekend. They never deserved to win the game or to at least get something out of it. Losing against the Ghanaians on Saturday will mean an early exit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup and this is a fate that the Socceroos definitely want to avoid.
In addition to Tim Cahill’s exclusion following his dismissal against Germany, Vince Grella is also one player that will not have the chance of helping Australia overcome Ghana. The Blackburn Rovers midfielder has a medial ligament twisted in his knee. This unfortunate incident occurred during training and he is now set to miss up to three weeks of action. Vince Grella’s absence might give way to either Mark Miligan or Mile Jedinak to step into Saturday’s battle.
Harry Kewell, who didn’t take part in Australia’s 4-0 defeat to Germany, could lineup this time against Ghana. The midfielder’s influence in the Socceroos’ squad is of high value and it might help them break Ghana’s impressive midfield composed of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Andre Dede Ayew Pele, Kwadwo Asamoah, and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie.
So both sides will have very different reasons to take all three points on Saturday. The match could be decided around the mentality factor.