Ghana (National Football)

Of all the reasons we love the Africa Cup of Nations, the celebrations might rank at the top.

On the one hand, we have Congo goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba, who celebrated a goal for his team in the group stage by bouncing around on his rear end (video here).

On the other hand, others are planning ahead. Take for instance the prostitutes of Nigeria, who are promising the men of the country a "week of free sex" if the Super Eagles win the Cup (via our friend Ryan Bailey over at Dirty Tackle).

And then there's Abdul Fatawu Dauda, the goalkeeper for Ghana. Ghana, as you probably already know, advanced to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations by beating Cape Verde 2-0 on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Mubarak Wakaso scored twice, a controversial penalty in the 54th minute and a breakaway goal in the 90th, to lead Ghana to within two wins of their first African title since 1982.

"Our first half was okay, but second half was not one of our best games," said Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah (via BBC Sport).

Appiah added: "Cape Verde dominated in the second half, but the important thing is that we won and are through to the semi-finals."

As if to illustrate the point, Dauda marked the victory with a wide-eyed celebration for the cameras. Or more accurately, he approached one unfortunate camera with a truly frightening face.

A clip of Dauda's celebration appears above and serves as our Set Piece Video of the Day for this Tuesday. Enjoy (there's a super-slow-motion version here) then tell us this:

How far can Ghana go? With Ivory Coast out of the tournament, are Ghana the favorites?

And more importantly, does Dauda have anything left in his celebratory repertoire? We can only hope.

(h/t Dirty Tackle)

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Ghana are through to the semifinals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over heavy underdogs Cape Verde in Saturday's semifinal.

Yet, as strong as the Black Stars might seem at the moment, they still have plenty to prove if they are to take home to the title in South Africa this year.

Their quarterfinal victory came as a result of some less-than-inspiring circumstances, with a dubious penalty and a late runaway goal the only difference between the two teams. And once you factor in a fantastic game from Ghana goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, this one truly was much closer than the scoreline suggests.

Ghana's entire AFCON tournament has been tighter than it suggests.

They came into their quarterfinal matchup against Cape Verde as heavy favorites—particularly given the "minnow" status entrusted on their opponents—but had not really been tested at all throughout the group stages of the competition,

And when they were tested, like in the second half against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they crumbled under the first sign of pressure or resistance.

They know they should have beaten Cape Verde easily in this quarterfinal, and for this one to have been so close surely must have come as a reality check and a wake-up call for Ghana. You'd like to think so anyway, given their supposed attacking dominance.

Credit must be given to the Blue Sharks for their strong performance, but Ghana should never have even let this one be as close as it was. If they truly were as strong and as in control as they suggest at AFCON 2013, this one would never have been as close as it was throughout the match.

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah said after the win (per BBC Sport):

Our first half was okay, but second half was not one of our best games. Cape Verde dominated in the second half, but the important thing is that we won and are through to the semi-finals...

And that was him playing it down. It really was that close.

Ghana are looking to win their first African Cup title in 31 years after they triumphed over Libya in a penalty shootout back in 1982.

They are in a great position in 2013 to achieve that goal—into the final four of the tournament—and remarkably, they've done it without playing that well.

As mentioned above, they cruised through the group stages—albeit untested—and clearly have the quality right across the pitch to truly leave a mark on the competition. That is, providing they start to play up to their potential in South Africa.

The Black Stars will most likely face an Emmanuel Adebayor-led Togo in the semifinals of the tournament, and they'll certainly need to step it up a gear if they want to win that one.

They haven't really got going in either attack or defense consistently here—which is a positive thing in a way, but also a tentative cause for concern as well.

It's a good thing for Ghana in that there's still plenty of potential to reach. If this is where they've reached without playing their best, imagine what they can do when they are playing their best?

Two goals conceded in four matches and they're playing poorly?

Ghana at their optimum is therefore a scary proposition and something that fans of the Black Stars will no doubt be hoping to see in the next round.

However, it needs to be a tentative cause for concern because, in reality, Ghana don't have any more time to find that potential and consistent performance.

They've had four matches so far and haven't really produced it; now they must find it, reach it and open it up effectively on either Burkina Faso or Togo in a few days' time.

Which is possible, but seemingly unlikely given what we've witnessed from the African heavyweights so far in South Africa this year.

Ghana must step up in their semifinal or they will most likely be out and left to rue what was one of their best chances to break a 31-year trophy drought.

Which, as it stands, is one heck of an opportunity for Ghana.

But it's all on their shoulders now.

Step up or go home. It's as simple as that.

Do Ghana have what it takes to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations?

Comment below or hit me up on Twitter:  Follow @dantalintyre

With a win over Cape Verde, 2-0, Ghana have reached the semifinals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. The victory moves the Black Stars one step closer to the final as they look to capture their first title in 31 years.

Cape Verde gave a valiant effort against Ghana, but goalkeeper Fatau Dauda made three clutch saves to help turn away his opponents attempts at finding the back of the net.

This match didn't come without controversy, however, as one of two goals scored by Mubarak Wakaso was the result of a spot kick which came from a questionable call midway through the match.

For good measure, Wakaso would net his second goal in the closing minutes to seal the deal.

The win sets Ghana up for a crucial semifinal matchup—let's take a closer look at the keys to success for the Black Stars hopes of winning this tourney.

Defense

Great defense has been the theme for Ghana in their last three matches. They have won by a combined margin of 6-0 over their last three opponents: Mali, Niger and now Cape Verde. Defense has no doubt been instrumental in this team's success and is a major reason why they sit in such an ideal position as this tourney winds down.

Ghana has done a great job limiting the amount of shots the opposition is taking. Even when opposing offenses do get opportunities, the Black Stars are doing an excellent job of keeping the ball out of the box on the defensive end, assuring a lack of easy chances on net.

John Pantsil's epic performance on defense has allowed Ghana to neutralize some of their opponent's best players.

That has no doubt made things easier for Ghana's goalkeeper, who has been stellar in his own right.

Fatau Dauda

Speaking of Ghana's goalkeeper—he has been sensational throughout this tourney when the ball does find him.

Dauda was a big reason why Ghana's 2-0 lead ended up standing, as he made three brilliant saves against Cape Verde's Platini, Djaniny and Heldon Ramos.

This kind of safeguard for the Black Stars defense is an advantage that most teams don't have. It allows their defenders to take some chances in order to make things happen going the other way.

Having such an experienced, talented keeper in net gives Ghana a huge advantage over every other team in the AFCON. 

Mubarak Wakaso

One of Ghana's most explosive players, Wakaso, finally erupted for the first time in the AFCON as he scored two goals in the Black Stars' quarterfinal win. Before that, Wakaso had netted just one goal throughout the tournament.

In this instance, Wakaso's two goals—which helped propel the Black Stars to victory over Cape Verde—came in a match where the midfielder was inserted as a substitute.

While he's made two starts thus far in the AFCON, it appears that coming off the bench with fresh legs against tired defenders is the better approach to getting Wakaso going.

We already know what some of Ghana's starters bring to the table—having a weapon like Wakaso coming off the bench and firing on all cylinders will no doubt be the X-factor for the Black Stars offensive attack late in matches.

An encounter far tighter than many predicted ended with the result that several assumed, as West African heavyweights, and last year’s semifinalists, Ghana sealed their return to this stage by eliminating Cape Verde.

Despite being outplayed for long periods by a Cape Verdean side that appeared to possess both more cohesion and more desire than their more-exalted opposition, Ghana managed to advance to the semifinals. It took a dubious penalty—where Carlitos appeared merely to nudge Asamoah Gyan off the ball in the box—and stunning performance by Black Stars keeper Fatwa Dauda to seal progression.

The Black Stars were toothless, and a late breakaway by Mubarak Wakaso—with the Sharks’ keeper up for a corner—gave the scoreline an undeserved gloss.

I wrote recently of the magnitude of Cape Verde’s achievements in this tournament to date, and this feels like an appropriate to once more highlight the feats of a nation that has a population of merely 500,000—that’s the same size as Bristol, for UK readers.

Had they just beaten Cameroon once, it would have been astonishing. To qualify ahead of them was unbelievable, and to escape the group stage in their maiden Cup of Nations is surely a feat that will rank up there with the continent’s finest.

Cape Verde can look back fondly and proudly on their recent experiences; the future looks bright for a squad high on both talent and organisation. As we close the chapter on their run, the archipelago’s advance and a series of fixtures that will live long in the memory—injustices and all—we turn the page to Ghana’s future, both short and long term.

I have long been excited about this current crop of Ghanaian talent, those like Kwadwo Asamoah and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, gently entering their prime, and also the younger, exciting players such as Christian Atsu, Richmond Boakye and Solomon Asante.

Unfortunately, while they might be flourishing for their various club sides, these stars have failed to convince with the national side during the tournament.

Atsu has showed flashes of his supreme ability, whilst Asante has been a ray of light in his brief, late cameos, with some brave running and inventive wing play. However, beyond the opening 50 minutes against the Democratic Republic of Congo, the likes of Asamoah and Agyemang-Badu have failed to spark, and have been largely underwhelming.

Against Cape Verde they were often overrun and out-played, and the long-term view suggests that this crop are a way away from challenging for greater international recognition.

In the short term, the nature of the cup format and the unpredictability of this particular tournament means that almost anything could happen to the Black Stars.

In the semifinal they will come up against either Togo or Burkina Faso. I suspect that whilst Ghana are likely to be anxious heading into the match, aware of the high stakes and their recent disappointing performances, their opposition, whichever West African nation advances, will be buoyed by their advancement and will attack the Black Stars fearlessly.

It could be a long and arduous afternoon for Ghana, but I still back their quality to shine through eventually. A first Afcon title since 1982 is still well within the realms of possibility, but it may well require their stars to improve dramatically.

Ghana's Asamoah Gyan put his squad into the quarterfinals at the Africa Cup of Nations with a beautiful goal against Niger. With Gyan playing well and ending his international goal drought, Ghana have to be viewed as favorites to the win the Cup.

Gyan has faced a ton of criticism leading into the tournament and through the first group games as his Ghana side hasn't lived up to expectations. He responded in a big way by scoring a goal and playing a part in the squad's other two goals in the 3-0 victory.

In the sixth minute, Gyan fired home from inside the box on a beautiful pass from the right wing to give Ghana a 1-0 lead. Then in the 23rd minute, Gyan made a beautiful run out left, got the ball and casually delivered a cross in the box for Christian Atsu. The 21-year-old chested the ball down and cooly finished to give Ghana a 2-0 lead. 

Gyan wasn't done just then, as he flung a header at goal in the 49th minute. The goalie was barely able to knock the ball down and spilled the rebound in front of net. Ghana's John Boye tapped the ball into the net to give Ghana a 3-0 cushion. 

Gyan could have made the damage much worse, but missed a couple of opportunities in front of net. All things considered, it was one of Gyan's best performances for his country in recent memory.

Ghana will need Gyan to continue to play at a high level throughout the tournament. If he plays like he did today or better, it will be tough for anybody to beat the Black Stars. 

Pressure situations have gotten to Gyan, including his famous penalty miss during the 2010 World Cup. After his performance against Niger, Gyan looks set to prove those critics wrong as well and deliver strong performances deep into the tournament. 

The pairing of Gyan and Atsu could perform much better than they have so far. The young Atsu has yet to break out like expected. If the two can find their form at the same time, they should connect for more goals like they did against Niger and make Ghana's attacking incredibly dangerous.

In the next round, Ghana will play Cape Verde, who are making their tournament debut. They will be heavy favorites to knock off the under-talented Blue Sharks. Ghana shouldn't have trouble getting past them and into the semifinals.

The biggest competitor to Ghana's run at the Cup will likely be the boys from Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Gervinho have them playing well, but their defense is beatable. Ghana has the attacking play and defense to get a couple goals. 

Ghana will go as far as Gyan will take them. Based on today, Ghanaians have to like their chances at bringing home the nation's fifth trophy in the competition. 

The second day of Afcon competition kicked off in Port Elizabeth, as Group B’s four teams roared into action. With the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mali and Niger all competing, fans had a chance to assess the future prospects of the four nations and to begin to judge the dynamic of a group which is among the tightest in the competition.

From my personal point of view, the opening match between Ghana and the DRC was of particular interest; in a recent previews piece I tipped Ghana to be the eventual tournament winners, while I also picked Congo out to be the Dark Horse of the competition—the team that people expect little from, but who actually have the capacity to flourish and prosper, particularly with the pressure off.

Both teams have endured tournament run-ins rife with turmoil and disarray, but the two squads still possess quality enough to trouble the majority of the other teams in the tournament.

Ghana are without players good enough to make the first eleven of any other national side: injury, suspension, retirement and disagreement have ruled out Kevin-Prince Boateng, Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari and Ayew brothers André and Jordan—that is an assemblage of talent whose loss would be hard for any team to overcome and yet, among their ranks, Ghana still possess some of the continent’s finest players.

My colleague Sam Tighe predicted Kwadwo Asamoah to be one of the tournament’s stars, whilst I myself have long championed the qualities of the likes of Christian Atsu and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu. Despite their absentees, Ghana may well have enough talent to see them right through to the final reaches of the tournament.

For the Democratic Republic of Congo, problems have emerged not from squad selection, but from a bonuses row which had threatened to leave the team split and ruin the spirit of the bunch. Fortunately, it seems like those disagreements have been laid to rest until another day.

Despite going two-nil down to Ghana—a situation which would have placed the microscope on any warring, disgruntled selection of players and exposed them—the Leopards rallied and fought back to secure a 2-2 draw.

Each of the game’s two halves demonstrated exactly why I had backed each to impress at this tournament. The first half saw the Black Stars flourish with their succinct and efficient attacking play. Despite Congo looking the stronger of the two, Ghana sought the goal mercilessly with Agyemang-Badu and Asamoah the goalscorers.

But the Leopards, and their legendary coach Claude Le Roy, are made of sterner stuff, and they rallied and fought back through Tresor Mapi Mputu and Dieumerci Mbokani—two players that, ardent Bleacher readers will know, I have been backing for many months.

While both nations will be encouraged by their form in front of goal, the Group’s two other teams, Mali and Niger, will be hoping that it is their defensive frailties that are exploited over the next few games.

The West African pair played out a fairly dull contest which looked, until late on, to be ending as the third 0-0 draw in a very low-key start to the competition. Unfortunately for Niger, Mali and their skipper, ex-Barcelona man Seydou Keita, were clearly unwilling to settle for another bore draw.

After defending commendably, and frustrating their more exalted opposition, Niger finally cracked in the eighty-fourth minute, when goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda failed to hold onto a Mali cross, and Keita was there to capitalise. Neither keeper had convinced, with both looking uncomfortable coming to claim the ball, but it was just unfortunate for the Mena that it was Daouda who slipped up.

With Mali in the driving seat, the Eagles will be keen to improve on last year’s third place finish. Tougher tests will await them, and I expect to see some marvelous competition between Group B’s teams as the fortunes of the four unravel over the coming weeks.

The African Cup of Nations entered its second day of playing and it has to be said, it was far more enthralling than the first.

GROUP B RESULTS: Ghana 2-2 Congo DR, Mali 1-0 Niger

After both results on day one ended scoreless, you'd be forgiven for thinking the AFCON was yet to kick off.

The much-fancied Ghana took to the stage against a real minnow in Congo DR and both teams fired in two each to get us excited.

The favourites took a two-goal lead despite Asamoah Gyan's best efforts to ensure the tournament remained scoreless. Kwadwo Asamoah was the one who sparked it all.

His pass was slid home by Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, then Asamoah himself nodded home at the far post to double the advantage.

But Claude LeRoy—who was present on the touchline despite rumours that he'd tendered his resignation—oversaw a staunch comeback in which Dieumerci Mbokani netted one of the goals.

Disappointment for the Black Stars, joy for the Leopards. Goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba epitomised that with this epic dance.

Congo manager LeRoy felt it was a game to get excited about, as reported by the BBC:

This match was a great advertisement for African football.

I'm proud of my players. They have great quality and they showed it by coming back to a high level competition like the Africa Cup after a seven year absence.

We deserved this result after all the problems we had and I hope that it will get the whole country behind the team now.

The later kickoff saw Mali pull a win out of the bag late on against Niger.

Captain fantastic Seydou Keita, also known as Pep Guardiola's "moral and ethical yardstick" struck in the 84th minute to give his nation a much-needed win considering the impending contest with Ghana.

It was a deserved victory for The Eagles who dominated for long spells, but had to rely on a gaffe from goalkeeper Daouda Kassaly to steal three points.

Mali manager Patrice Carteron told the BBC he was satisfied with a hard-fought win:

It was a difficult game against a very defensive team like Niger.

But I'm happy for the players because they have worked hard and this win will boost confidence for the next match against Ghana.

Day three will see four more teams take to the stage in an effort to impress early on in this contest, with Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Zambia and Ethiopa all featuring.

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We know Didier Drogba will lead the Ivory Coast, and we know Zambia will be hard-pushed to repeat the heroics of 2012.

What we don't know is who the star of the tournament will be. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang pulled up some serious trees in last year's edition, but who will be the player to captivate the public in the 2013 African Cup of Nations?

Kwadwo Asamoah should be watched carefully.

The Ghanaian dynamo has become a well-rounded player and enters this tournament in full fitness and prime form. The only question mark remains over which position coach Kwesi Appiah uses him in, and it's a decision he has to get right.

Asamoah made his name as a box-to-box midfielder, playing primarily in the attacking midfield position, for Udinese during the 2011-12 campaign.

After signing for Juventus in a co-ownership deal this summer, Antonio Conte and Massimo Carrera made the odd move of asking him to play left-wing-back. It's a testament to his ability as a footballer that he aced the role straight away despite never playing there before.

With Conte's "MVP" midfield of Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo performing superbly, there was no way to slot the Ghanaian in. The same applied to Mauricio Isla, who timeshares the right-wing-back role with Stephan Lichtsteiner and occasionally cameos on the left.

Despite playing out of position with the Bianconeri, Asamoah will likely have assumed that he'd reclaim his place as an attacking midfielder for the Black Stars. Wrong.

In Ghana's warm-up 3-0 win over Egypt on January 10th, Asamoah played left-back while six players took roles in midfield as Appiah tinkered with his side using substitutes.

The likes of Anthony Annan, Derek Boateng and Christian Atsu found playing time in the centre, but Asamoah completed 90 minutes from left-back.

What's more of a concern is that, if Asamoah is to take up the central role in a 4-2-3-1, the other left-back options are sparse; one-cap Richard Kissi Boateng is the other option at left-back.

But wherever he plays, Asamoah is worth watching.

From left-back he will race forward, keep the pitch wide and have a huge impact on the game from the sideline without even touching the ball. His left foot is excellent and he will consume the opposing right-back and right-winger's defensive duties single-handedly.

From central midfield, he will be the bonafide workhorse that grabs opponents by the scruff of the neck and takes the game to them. His positive energy, vertical runs and explosive nature is something fans love to see.

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