Background:
Ghana were a Luis Suarez handball away from becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2010 and go into this event as one of the big favorites.Uruguay striker Suarez was sent-off for deliberately blocking a shot on the line with his arm, Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty, and Ghana bowed out of the event on spot kicks. What a cruel mistress soccer can be.
They showed a fearlessness in that tournament that should have galvanized the other African nations who under performed in 2010. One of their leading lights, Kevin-Prince Boateng has retired from the international stage, however, and will be a big miss.
Michael Essien, who misses the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations through injury, is tipping his teammates to reach the final in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Black Stars, though, have not won the tournament since 1982 and Essien should be wary of heightening expectation from the sidelines.
A weakened field – Cameroon, Nigeria and Egypt are all missing – certainly bodes well for Ghana, and Serbian coach Goran Stevanovic will know the tournament represents a golden chance to add one more African Champion star above the GFA crest.
Failure to at least reach the final could mark the end of Stevanovic’s tenure, and the former Partizan Belgrade boss has been in bullish mood ahead of the event.
23-man Ghana Africa Cup of Nations Squad:
Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset, Norway), Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals, Ghana), Ernest Sowah (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana)
Defenders: Samuel Inkoom (Dnipro, Ukraine), John Paintsil (Leicester City, England), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege, Belgium), Masawudu Alhassan (Genoa, Italy), Lee Addy (Dalian Aerbim, China), John Boye (Rennes, France), John Mensah (Lyon, France), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim, Germany)
Midfielders: Charles Takyi (St Pauli, Germany), Emmanuel Agyemang Badu (Udinese ,Italy), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, Ukraine), Anthony Annan (Vitesse Arnhem, Netherlands), Mohammed Abu (Stromsgodset, Norway), Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese, Italy), Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, Italy), Andre Ayew (Marseille, France)
Forwards: Prince Tagoe (Bursaspor, Turkey), Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Jordan Ayew (Marseille, France).
What they say:
Goran Stevanovic
"I said when I came here that I wanted to win the African Cup and now I think we are ready to win it. I think there is a good balance in the team to be able to do that. This will not be easy as there are some very good teams like Ivory Coast, Senegal and Mali who want to challenge us for the title. But we can do it. I have not changed my mind about our chances and hopes.”
Player to Watch:
Andre Ayew
Key to Ghana’s hopes of ending their 30-year trophy drought will be the Marseille winger. The BBC African Footballer of the Year for 2011, Ayew notched 11 times for the club last season and has been amongst the goals once again in 2011-12. The 22-year-old shone at the 2010 World Cup and it has been suggested, with good reason, that Ghana may have made it to the semi-finals had he not missed the Uruguay match through suspension. Son of Abedi "Pele" Ayew, who won the inaugural BBC award in 1991, the youngster’s brother Jordan has also made the squad.
Follow About.com World Soccer on Facebook throughout the Africa Cup of Nations
