Even at the World Cup Africa plays cup in hand?

Ghanaians still hoping for anything good to come out of the Black Stars campaign in the ongoing Brazil 2014 are virtually on their knees, begging Angela Merkel’s Die Mannschaft to do us a favour – ditch Obama’s Stars and Stripes, so we can breathe into the Round of 16.

It is a similar hand-out thrown the way of ‘big brothers’ Nigeria which has seen the Super Eagles slip into the Round of 16 from Group F. As for disgraceful Cameroon, they sanctioned themselves out of the queue for any reprieve, while Cote D’Ivoire, unsure of what success may throw their way, also embargoed any further advances and kicked themselves out of Brazil. Not even the promise of extra bonus was luring enough to damn the body in favour of the soul. They should be somewhere near the Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan as you read this.

If history is any guide of the impressive Algerians, it looks like Africa once more has a bleak World Cup experience to share. But the North Africans deserve praise, having positioned themselves in a many that rests their destiny in their own control.

We know politically and economically we have pretended others are more endowed and chased them to hand us left-offers.

Somewhere near Oseikrom I hear there is a bearded prophet who is singing “what is, written is written” and predicting a Black Stars qualification. Unfortunately I see only what is physical with the set of eyes God granted me and the picture so far, is not looking too good. There too many loose ends in our quest for progress that unless God turns to support the Black Stars, our future in the game looks too precarious.

Certainly God’s hand cannot be ruled out of the fortunes of the Black Stars, seeing the manner in which the Portuguese game changing equaliser came through against the USA.

At a time the Americans were dominating and looked stronger, it took the limping, distraught and jaded Cristiano Ronaldo, the same man Kwaku Bonsam claimed to have broken his legs in many places and evidence of which appeared too apparent, to swing in an unstoppable cross for a nod-in. The angels are playing some.

We shall rejoice if we make it, but we should also be mindful of the other results possible out of the encounter. A win by Portugal knocks us out cold. A draw between Germany and USA and we are out. And that looks a high possibility too, going into the knockout stage and with the awareness of the high energy demands, it will be highly imprudent for us to expect that only the Germans will step up their game and whack the Americans hands down.

But when all is said and done, the Black Stars have a lot of questions to answer –  the technical team, administrators but more so the players, for forcing the hand of government to chatter a flight-load of hard cash and fly all the way from Ghana to Brazil. I heard somebody say if this is not money laundering then nothing else is.
 
Pssss! Word on the streets is also that the Stars made the pay-or-no-play call for appearance fees for good measure – having failed to win their two opening games, expectations of winning bonuses were fast drying up, and should they fail to thump Portugal and achieve the desired results, they would virtually have ceded their bargaining rights to demand any cash remunerations and so ... – a practical case of a stitch in time. With that attitude they can rest their hearts many are the fans and politicians ready to poke their hands in their eyes to tell them how annoyed fans back home are with them – that is if they bungle the last chance too.