All of Africa's hopes now rest solely on the young Black Stars
All of Africa's hopes now rest solely on the young Black Stars
Twenty-year-old Andre Ayew has emerged as one of the surprise stars of the tournament.
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Little was known of the Ghanian lad who plays in the French second division for AC Arles-Avignon on loan from Olympique de Marseille. But the skilful Ayew, who possesses a magnetic left foot, has peerless pedigree ufffd he is the son of Ghanaian legend Abedi Pele, who is himself in South Africa as a television commentator.
Man of the match award winner in the knockout round against the US, Ayew will miss Ghana's big date with history today, their first-ever World Cup quarter-final with Uruguay following a soft second yellow card in the win over the United States.
Ayew is hopeful the boys will come good at Soccer City so he can rejoin the journey in the semi-final.
"We feel we have a whole continent behind us, all of Africa behind us, and that has given us the energy to keep fighting for everything," said Ayew. "We have to fight for all the other African teams that left us. We have to make the whole continent proud."
Ayew was a key figure in Ghana's triumph at the Under-20 World Cup last year. "Of course, there's a big difference between youth tournaments and this level, but that experience has helped us a lot," said Ayew, who praised coach Milovan Rajevac for blending together the nucleus of the Under-20 side with experienced international campaigners.
Another unexpected star for Ghana here has been their midfield anchorman Anthony Annan. The 24-year-old nephew of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, has more than filled the big boots of Ghana's injured superstar Michael Essien.
Annan, who plays for Norwegian club Rosenborg, is a diminutive player but he has hardly put a foot wrong all tournament, once again demonstrating the power of the World Cup to throw unheralded talent into the limelight.
Soccer analyst Joe Latakgomo feels Ghana can make history for the continent.
"This is the moment for Africa. My money is on Ghana. They have the physique and the skill to outdo Uruguay," he said.
Much was expected of six African sides contesting the first-ever World Cup on the home continent. Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria, South Africa and Nigeria all crashed out in the first round, but that has helped galvanise support across the continent for the Black Stars.
South African Football Association chief executive Leslie Sedibe said Ghana have redeemed Africa's pride. "We have urged all South Africans to throw their support behind Ghana. It is great to see Africa united, and we hope Ghana can go all the way at the tournament," said Sedibe.
Fans from the host nation are rooting solidly for Ghana. South African fan Sela Ndoko said the way Ghana has played at this World Cup has taught the locals a big lesson ufffd "always play with your heart and focus for the full 90 minutes".
Many local youngsters, Ndoko said, have adopted the names of the Ghanian players as their nicknames. "They have captured our imagination. If they can create history tonight by moving into the semi-finals, it will redeem Africa's pride. We want them to extract revenge for South Africa too because it was the 3-0 defeat against Uruguay that cost us in the end."
To reflect their new status as Africa's flagbearers, Ghana has changed their team bus slogan to "The Hope of Africa".
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