This will be the third World Cup in which Ghana has played , the previous two being in 2006 and 2010. The last tournament was the team’s most impressive result, they reached the quarter-finals and finished seventh overall. Just a few years ago the team was considered an outsider, but it has now emerged as a real contender on the international stage and climbed steadily to 38th place in the FIFA world rankings.
Style
The Ghana team tends to take to the field in either 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation. Having the team distributed like this allows for its flexible style of play. You will often see every member of the team both attacking and defending. However, their play can often seem a bit rigid and makes use of lots of long balls.
Strengths
During qualifying Ghana showed that they had a strong attacking force and averaged just over 3 goals per match. Goals came from both close and long range as well as from dead balls and headers. The team has truly excellent midfielders and could potentially fill the whole squad with them. Furthermore, once Ghana moved ahead, it was rare to see a team beat them.
Weaknesses
While the team has excellent midfielders it is lacking talent in every other area. Of real concern is the position of goalkeeper with hardly any viable options. The team is also lacking any good defensive players which may explain why hardly any clean sheets were kept during qualifying.
World Cup Group Stage
- Ghana vs. USA – Monday, 16 June 2014, Match Preview
- Germany vs. Ghana – Saturday, 21 June 2014 Match Preview
- Portugal vs Ghana – Thursday, 26 June 2014, Match Preview
