The 31st edition of the African Cup of Nations is upon us, and four-time champions Ghana have made it to the main tournament for the seventh consecutive time. They’ll be eager to put the disappointment of 2015 – where they ended emotional runners-up after a penalty shoot-out – behind them by going one better this time.
They had good reason to be emotional too – it is rare that the team with awards for the highest goalscorer of the tournament, best player of the tournament, fair player of the tournament and best goal of the tournament ends up not winning it.
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A solid unbeaten run in the qualifiers where they only conceded thrice sees them in Group C with Egypt, Mali & Uganda. Here are five reasons they could make it out of that group & indeed go all the way.
#5 Star-studded squad hungry for success
For a team as highly regarded & ranked in African football as Ghana, it is a shocking fact that their last major trophy came over thirty years ago – in the West African Nations Cup in 1987. Since then, they’ve finished runners-up five times across various tournaments including thrice in the Cup of Nations. Sometimes hunger can be the greatest motivator & for generation of fans who’ve grown up watching their team stumble at the final hurdle, there would be no better time to set that right than now.
The Black Stars will have to fight their way through a tricky group first, and all the way through to the title.
#4 Manager Avram Grant
Appointed in 2014, the familiar Grant – from his Chelsea spell – is among the longest reigning managers at this tournament and will be hoping to push his team one step further in this tournament than he did at the first time of asking.
The 61-year-old is a highly experienced manager who is very familiar with the strengths & weaknesses of his squad – and this is where the longevity of his reign could give Ghana an edge. The squad is brimming with a fresh injection of talent in addition to the old stalwarts and how he utilises them might make the vital difference.
#3 The force that is Asamoah Gyan
The 31-year-old striker holds the record for both the number of caps as well as goals scored for the Ghanaian national team and the highest number of goals scored by an African player at FIFA World Cups.
Gyan who now captains the team has featured for the Black Stars in each of the last six editions of this tournament and has been a runner-up twice. He will surely be eager to cap his highly decorated career with this glorious title. Leading from the front comes naturally to some captains, and even more so for strikers.
Gyan will be hoping for his biggest haul in a single tournament yet – to add to his 7 goals overall – and to lead his team to victory.
#2 The talent of the Ayew brothers
Andre Ayew and Jordan Ayew have been in a competition all of their own ever since they started playing together for the national team. Jordan, the younger, seems to have finally gotten the better of Andre with a better goal haul in qualifiers this year, although one can only undermine the elder brother at their own peril. Andre Ayew was the joint top scorer at AFCON 2015 along with 2 assists that earned him the Pepsi award.
Joining the brothers in midfield will be 2015’s player of the tournament and current man-in-form, Newcastle United’s Christian Atsu. Together the three will be hoping to form a formidable supporting cast to their captain.
#1 At least a top-four finish in the last five AFCON tournaments
In each of the last five editions of the Cup of Nations, Ghana have ended up making their way into either the 3rd place playoff or the final. Clearly, it is a squad with the experience and the know-how to make it to the final stages of the tournament and there’s no reason to believe this year will be any different.
If anything, their desire for success would have been whipped up more than ever by the crushing loss in 2015. That might just push them hard enough to make it one better this time.
