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World Cup Morning Report – Ghana defeated but does Africa proud
Yesterday evening’s thoroughly entertaining last-eight encounter between Ghana and Uruguay was not just any old World Cup quarter-final. It was not only special because it was Ghana’s first quarter-final in the greatest football tournament in the world. It was not only special because Ghana are just the third African nation in history to get to the last eight in a World Cup and it was not only special because this year’s competition is on African soil. It was extraordinary, unique, momentous and memorable in so many ways, but perhaps why it was most stunning was due to the unwavering salvo of heart-warming support and encouragement the whole African continent bestowed upon its Ghanaian heroes. The World Cup will surely not have borne witness to anything quite as remarkable as the scenes we had the privilege of experiencing yesterday evening at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
A huge herd of vuvuzelas were out in force once again, their incessant buzz stampeding through the entire stadium in order to inspire the young Ghanaian players and to liberate them from any pressure they may have felt and to spur them on relentlessly as well as to load a weight on to Uruguayan shoulders. Ghanaians, South Africans, Ivorians, Nigerians, Cameroonians, and even fans from Europe or perhaps Australasia embellished themselves in excessively bright colours and screeched themselves hoarse in support of the one and only Ghana. Everyone adores an underdog, and when the World Cup is hosted by an African country for the first time, everyone develops a strong urge to adopt an African side as their second favourite team. As Ghana were the only remaining African side in the tournament until roughly 12 hours ago, an almost hysterical penchant for them had propagated since the end of the group stage.
Despite the result of the match being unfavourable, Ghana experienced its greatest sporting day, and for many of the young Ghanaian players, 2 July, 2010 will be the apogee of their careers. The Ghanaian team is to be thanked for two things in particular at this World Cup: For creating a truly massive sense of African pride amongst the millions of people who inhabit the continent, and for playing their part in one of the most astonishing tales that will now proudly appear in the updated edition of the World Cup storybook.
If today’s two remaining quarter-finals are as entertaining to watch, enthralling and theatrically sublime, then we will have to give an extra special thank you to the footballing gods. Argentina against Germany should certainly contain plenty of spice given they met at this stage of the competition four years ago, when Germany eventually prevailed on penalties and scenes of fisticuffs marred the end of the game as the Argentines decided it would be wrong not to keep up their tradition of being totally undignified losers. The build-up to the game in Cape Town has already been characterised by a war of words, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Diego Maradona in particular having digs at each other. Let’s hope the game is not a scrappy, filthy war of attrition containing unnecessary levels of play-acting and trying to get opposition players sent off. There is definitely a danger of this being the case with these two sides, but hopefully we will see a game of football that activates the saliva glands rather than one that sees us wincing with every tackle or talking about cruelly cunning players trying to gain a man advantage.
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