31 January 2008
Lagos — Ghanaians, particularly those resident in Accra, are scared stiff over the quarter final pairing between the Black Stars and Super Eagles of Nigeria. Nationals of the country can not stop talking about the much-anticipated duel on Sunday.
Even though, they put on brave faces, declaring that Nigeria will be hammered by their team, within them, they fear that the Eagles might dim their stars come Sunday evening.
This much came to the fore when Nigerian journalists went to have some hair cut in the exclusive area of Accra, known as the East Legon. There, the barbers were emphatic that the match will be tough but that they hoped that Nigeria will fall. However, they feared the team's unpredictable nature especially since the beginning of the tournament. One of the Stars supporters, Kignston Owusu, said the Ghanaian team is picking up at the moment but conceded that it was a wrong time for Ghana to play against Super Eagles.
Some others including George Lamptey, who had lived in Nigeria for over 10 years, Emmanuel Quansah, among others who described Sunday's match as a cracker, said, it would be a mistake for Black Stars to underrate Nigeria. They said the team would pay dearly if they believe the analysis some commentators offered on radio and television.
"We have watched all the games but we hope that Nigeria will be beaten. But the truth is that Nigeria has a lot of good and experienced players. Remember also that whenever both countries are playing, it is always explosive and exciting. Let's wait for the best team to win." The fever has also caught up with Ghanaian Parliamentarians who were unanimous in their analysis that the Black Stars will clip Eagles wings on Sunday.
But former Sports Minister, Etti Mensah, waived patriotism aside saying the match will produce some of the best action ever seen since the beginning of the event. He rather requested the home team to watch as many tapes as possible on Eagles recent match which he said would help the team's preparations. He recalled that during his time as the Sports Minister, many games between the Eagles and Ghana were stalemated.
Sex Scare Rocks Black Stars Camp
The Ghanaian national team, the Black Stars was allowed almost a 48 hour break after a scintillating performance against the Atlas Lions of Morocco in the group's last match on Monday. However, an anticipated effect of the holiday is already causing some heartache among supporters of the team which believe that such break would boomerang on the team's campaign. Those who share this view say the break could afford the players room to indulge in undue sexual escapades.
One of such concerned Ghanaians is Nana Agyeman, a UEFA-rated coach of Ghana and former international for his country. He said the Nigerian team he saw is disciplined and has all it takes to excel at the tournament. He, therefore, warned that if the Stars must be allowed to take leave, they must be closely monitored to avoid them involving themselves in sexual escapades.
"We know our players very well and we are afraid that if they are left to unwind to take it to another level and you don't do that when you are playing against a tough country like the Nigeria."
Similarly, our correspondent also gathered that Super Eagles officials were said to be battling to avoid an anticipated situation in the Nigerian camp, given past experiences.
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