Stars aim to finish off South Africa

After leaving their qualification to the 2022 Qatar World Cup hanging on the ropes, the Black Stars of Ghana will face the Bafana Bafana of South Africa tomorrow in a ‘redemption’ encounter at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.

Ghana was hoping to beat Ethiopia and leapfrog the group leaders South Africa to cement their quest to get through to the next stage of the qualifiers but was stunned with a 1-1 draw by Ethiopia on Thursday, leaving their qualification hanging.

Skipper Andre Ayew had given the Stars the lead on the 22nd-minute mark of the crucial encounter and were hoping to cruise to victory till Getaneh Kebede equalised in the 72nd minute to deny the visitors the win.

South Africa, who played Zimbabwe in the late kick-off, remained on top of the group with Ghana occupying the second position with 10 points.

Ghana would need to beat South Africa decently in order to get to the next stage of the competition.

Tomorrow’s potentially absorbing cracker should see the Stars downing their familiar opponents in a bid to put themselves into the final phase of the qualifiers.

The Stars have been to three of the last four World Cup tournaments and are dreaming again to dazzle the world with its stunningly beautiful piece of football.

But they must grind the results at all cost as the South Africans had already indicated their interest at the next Mundial.

The likes of Andre Ayew, Mohammed Kudus, and Kamaldeen Sulemanu who failed to carry the team on their shoulders, must show up against South Africa.

Another miss at the Mundial would be a huge blow to Ghanaian fans as the Black Stars were gradually receiving a little bit of support after their disappointments in recent years.

BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE