The Black Stars of Ghana has been drawn in Group H in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup to be staged in Qatar alongside Portugal, Uruguay and Korea Republic.
The Black Stars will play their first game against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, then face off against Luis Suarez’s Uruguay before taking on the Koreans in their last group game.
The group is very tricky and many will not really fancy the Stars to progress beyond the group stages unless, they put up a splendid performance beyond what they did in the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
Looking at the incident that happened in 2010 in South Africa that saw the Black Stars missed the semi-finals with a whisker, many Ghanaians see this year’s tournament as a revenge for the Black Stars. However, the Black Stars must be in their very best to beat the South American giants, Uruguay.
Meanwhile, this is the second time the Black Stars have been drawn against Portugal in the World Cup. In Brazil 2014, Portugal beat Ghana 2-1 at the group stages but unfortunately, both sides could not progress beyond the first round. This means the Black Stars have another opportunity to prove themselves by overcoming the Portuguese this time around.
Fight for supremacy between Ghana and South Korea
This will be the first time Ghana will meet the Asians in a major competition, especially, the FIFA World Cup. Between 2006 and 2014, the Black Stars played South Korea four times, all in international friendly matches. Ghana beat South Korea twice in 2006 with the same score line, 3-1 in June and October. In 2011 however, the Koreans emerged the better side, beating the Black Stars 2-1.
The last time the two sides met was just before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when Ghana beat the Koreans by 4 goals to nil. Overall, the head-to-head between the two nations is well balanced with 4 wins each and 1 draw.
Even though the Black Stars looked the better side based on recent results, the head-to-head record shows that the encounter in Qatar will be very difficult for both sides with the winner becoming the better side overall, between the two teams.
The African interest
On the other hand, Africa Champions, Senegal, was drawn in Group A alongside hosts, Qatar, Netherlands, and Ecuador. With their recent performance and given the quality in the team, the Teranga Lions are expected to sail through this group with ease.
Tunisia is also drawn in Group D alongside defending champions – 2018 Word Cup winners – France, Denmark and a yet-to-be announced opponent in the last playoff match in June. The Group is tough but with determination, the Cartage Eagles may sail through.
In another African interest, Morocco was drawn against Belgium, Croatia, and Canada in Group F. For this Group, the Atlas Lions will need to punch above their weights to be able to progress to the next stage.
Meanwhile, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon were drawn in a tough Group alongside the best ranked team in the world and the most successive country in the history of the World Cup, Brazil. The other Group G members are Serbia and Switzerland. Even though the chances are low, the Lions can cause an upset in Qatar by at least, progressing beyond the first round.
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