World Cup 2014 – Team Analysis – Ghana

We shift our World Cup attentions onto Ghana, now, with the second article focussing on the Group G contenders. First up for Kwasi Appiah’s troops is a showdown with USA on Monday June 16 at 11pm before they face a couple of very tough tasks, going up against Germany five days later at 8pm and taking on Portugal at 5pm on Thursday June 26:

Road to Qualification

Ghana’s campaign was boosted after a number of players – including Michael Essien, Kevin Prince-Boateng and Andre Ayew – chose to end their international exiles and returned to first-team duties. Placed in a four-team group along with Zambia, Sudan and Lesotho, they won five of their six fixtures, scoring 17 times and conceding on only three occasions. Handed a two-legged play-off against Egypt, they served up a stunning 6-1 home win before losing the subsequent away game 2-1 to clinch their place in this month’s tournament.

Most Starts Sulley Muntari, Kwadwo Asamoah, Harrison Afful (7), Fatau Dauda, Asamoah Gyan, John Boye (6), Abdul Majeed Waris, Samuel Inkoom, Mohammed Rabiu (4)

Most Goals Asamoah Gyan (6), Sulley Muntari, Abdul Majeed Waris (3)

The Key Targets

Since qualifying for the World Cup, Ghana have struggled badly for goals. Over nine fixtures (three friendlies and six African Nations Championship matches) Appiah’s side have scored just five times and have never netted more than once – indeed, they have failed to notch in each of the last four, with their most recent games including 1-0 defeats against Montenegro and Holland. On the positive side, they conceded just three times across those fixtures and have proven obstinate opponents to break down.

Ghana operate with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Daniel Opare and Harrison Afful pushing forward from right-back and left-back respectively. The former’s displays for Standard Liege have earned him a transfer to Porto this summer and he comes in at 4.8 in FantasyiTeam to Afful’s 4.9 – the pair’s attacking tendencies may have to be curtailed in the final couple of fixtures, though, with Appiah perhaps set to sit deeper and play on the counter instead.

At centre-half, John Boye and Jon Mensah looks the most obvious options though recent reports suggest Appiah is thinking of moving Michael Essien into the heart of the back-four, perhaps placing question marks over Boye’s game time, in particular. Certainly, given the calibre of opponents, their backline should be rewarded by those Fantasy games that favourably look upon defensive actions, though clean sheets may be hard to come by.

If Essien remains in the double-pivot, though, he’ll be partnered by Sulley Muntari. The Milan man (5.2 in FantasyiTeam) fired three goals during the qualifiers and is on spot-kicks for his country, as evidenced by his converted penalty against Egypt– a factor that may count in his favour when considering our options further up the field. Similar to the defenders, the two defensive midfielders are expected to be busy in the last couple of matches and could still be worth considering for certain Fantasy games. Indeed, to a lesser extent, the same can be applied to the wide men, Andre Ayew and Kwadwo Asamoah – whilst neither can be regarded as prolific, scoring one goal between them during qualifying, their stamina and work-rate have been hallmarks of their recent displays for Marseille and Milan respectively. The latter pair are also reasonably priced in FantasyiTeam, coming in at 5.1 and 5.3.

Former Sunderland man Asamoah Gyan was top scorer in qualifying – his six goals were double the number of any team-mate. Now plying his trade in the United Arab Emirates with Al Ain, his pace and strength up top keeps him ahead of any competition for the lone forward role. Tucked in behind, Kevin Prince-Boateng is the favourite to be handed the role in “the hole”. He was a pivotal figure in Schalke’s third placed Bundesliga finish last term and, despite being fielded in a more withdrawn position, found the net on six occasions. Like Gyan, Boateng is listed as a forward in FantasyiTeam and is the dearest of the two, at 7.4 to 7.2.

The Long Shots

Abdul Majeed Waris offers an alternative to Prince-Boateng for the role behind Gyan. The Spartak Moscow youngster notched nine goals in 16 starts on loan to French side Valenciennes in 2013/14 and was just as impressive during the qualifiers, scoring in three of his four appearances – classified as a forward, he comes in at 6.7 in FantasyiTeam

The pace and trickery of Christian Atsu could be an ideal commodity during the later stages of matches. Farmed out on loan from Chelsea to Vitesse Arnhem last term, the youngster registered five goals and six assists – he sets you back 5.2 in FantasyiTeam.

Further Analysis

Group A – Brazil,Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico

Group B – Australia, Chile, Holland, Spain

Group C – Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan

Group D – Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay

Group E – Ecuador, France, Honduras, Switzerland

Group F –Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria,

Group G – Germany

Fantasy iTeam

Fantasy Football Scout is supporting Fantasy iTeam, a free World Cup game available on a number of mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPodTouch and Android. There’s a £5000 holiday to be won for the overall winner and a £500 voucher available for the winner of our official Fantasy Football Scout League.

Click here for details and here to sign up.

Our League name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 4915.

Relevant Community Articles

Scouting Ghana by HeyDudes13, Scouting Ghana by Juan is the Man, Fantasy World Cup Early Options by Bowstring the Trout, The World Cup – The Players by the Sarjeant