Burkina Faso vs Ghana - 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Match Preview
There will actually be a lot to play for when both teams meet.
La Cote d’Ivoire qualified last week after beating Ghana 3-1 in a must win game for the Elephants.
The pressure is now on the Black Stars to get the result that will send them into the last 8 whereas Burkina Faso will try and hold on to their mathematical advantage and eventually upset the Ghanaians.
Will Ghana crash out from the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in their last three attempts?
This will definitely mean disaster for the nation which was the first on the African continent to reach the 2010 World Cup.
For Burkina Faso, however, defeating Ghana might be a sign of more success to come further in the tournament.
Statistics and explanations
Ghana have a negative goal difference and no point at all in Group B following their defeat in the hands of La Cote d’Ivoire.
The Black Stars seat at the bottom of the table, behind Burkina Faso who possess one point after drawing goalless in Group B’s opening fixture.
Meanwhile, La Cote d’Ivoire are already through to the last 8 – making Tuesday’s match a total decider.
As it stands, it means that Ghana cannot afford anything less than a victory as this will see them miss on the second and last qualifying spot.
For Burkina Faso, a draw will be enough to progress into the quarter-finals.
Ghana’s desire and reasons to win at all cost
There’s not turning back for the Black Stars. They successfully managed to reach the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament and they never looked troubled throughout their qualification campaign.
But the players that powered Ghana all the way through to the finals of Angola 2010 are not the same that are presently competing for the continent’s prestigious trophy.
The only key player that remains is Michael Essien while six places in the squad have been filled with newly promoted players from Ghana’s FIFA U-20 World Cup winning team.
But then again, the Black Stars will miss the services of Michael Essien as the midfielder has been ruled out from the tournament following an injury which he sustained in training yesterday.
As 2010 World Cup ticket holders, Ghana are aiming to test their readiness through the Africa Cup of Nations.
But as far as it could be seen on Day 2 of the competition against La Cote d’Ivoire, the Ghanaians have quite a point to prove before reaching their target which is to defend Africa’s value on football’s international stage come June 2010.
History can be achieved according to Ghana’s coach Milovan Rajevac who dreams of leading the Black Stars to their first major trophy since 1982.
However, Rajevac has now raised concerns over his players’ potential by blaming their defeat against La Cote d’Ivoire on ‘inexperience’ and ‘lack of power’.
Now a different show altogether will have to be presented by the Ghanaians when they’ll battle it out against Burkina Faso on Tuesday. They'll be boosted by the return of midfielder Anthony Annan who missed the first game against the Ivory Coast.
Winning should be their only goal in order to top Burkina Faso and thus qualify as runners-up.
Anything less will mean suicide as the population back home is not prepared to welcome their stars that early.
Burkina Faso – an upset will be sweet
There’ll be nothing sweeter for Burkina Faso than to add a point or three to the single one that they presently have and ultimately qualify into the quarter-finals.
Burkina Faso started the tournament by holding the Elephants of La Cote d’Ivoire to a controversial draw.
Now if many might argue that justice from the referee’s part might have seen Burkina Faso succumb to at least a penalty goal to nil, the reality here is that they’ve stolen a precious point which could help them further on.
Now they had more than a week to prepare ahead of this fixture and their coach, Paul Duarte, believes in his side's chances.
“That goalless draw has allowed us to start thinking of qualifying for the last eight,” the manager stated.
"Now we need to take on another World Cup qualified team Ghana, but mine has the ability to put in a good performance.''
Even if Burkina Faso realistically do not have what it takes to Ghana, a repeated draw will be enough to push them through to the next stage of the tournament.
Such a result will see them achieve something: they’d have succeeded in terminating Ghana’s hopes by sending them home empty handed.
