Spain's exit gives Ghana hope

Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng Opinion Jun - 20 - 2014 , 04:35

Spare a thought for Spain.

The European and World champions are the first reigning kings of world football to go out of the tournament so ignominiously. They have lost their two opening matches with a collection of seven balls from their own net. In some ways their two nil loss to Chile, which effectively sealed their exit warrant, must be more painful than the earlier five goals to one drubbing at the hands of the Dutch. At least, there was light at the end of the tunnel after the first match; Wednesday’s defeat meant lights out for Spain whose King Juan Carlos signed his own abdication warrant earlier that day in the national Parliament in Madrid.

One almost feels Spain’s pain; almost, but not quite because by some strange logic, Spain’s loss gives Ghana a glimmer of hope. This is how the roundabout logic works: this World Cup has been full of surprises. Apart from the fall of Spain, Brazil’s lucky draw against Mexico and Australia’s valiant loss by 2-3 to the Netherlands are part of the narrative of surprise which is becoming a dominant motif of the tournament.

Thus, the thinking is that since the mighty are falling, so to speak, why should Ghanaians not dare hope that Germany will fall and add to the story of uncertainty and levelling that is taking place in Brazil? Indeed, much as I hate to remind us of our pain, I need to add that the victory of the US over the Black Stars is in some vicarious way part of the script that might yet take us to centre stage. By the way, just to let you know how much the win over Ghana meant to the USA, the Wikipedia entry of John Brooks, the scorer of their second goal, has been amended to read “the greatest American since Abraham Lincoln”!

As many Ghanaians see it, or wish to see it, Ghana will beat Germany because Chile has beaten Spain and Brazil struggled against Mexico while Holland was not too convincing against Australia. Honestly, this is clutching at straws but some straws are attached to some deeply rooted trees. At least, we lose nothing by holding on to our dream.

But let us be realistic. The match against Germany is the last realistic hope to stake a claim to the knockout stage. I was not hopeful from the moment the draw put us in the company of Germany, Portugal and the USA. I know that in these febrile times, pessimism is almost equated to being unpatriotic so one must toe the official line which runs like this: Ghana would beat the USA and draw with Germany or Portugal which could be enough, depending on other results. The wilder fringes in our society even predicted three wins out of three for the Black Stars. There is no law against dreaming; not even daydreaming.

So, we are (or must be) optimistic that a miracle is about to unfold in Brazil. Given that there are more prophets in Ghana than in the Old Testament, I am surprised that we have not had a more definitive prediction about the result. A friend claims that she saw the Ghana defeat in a dream so I have advised her against dreaming or to wake up if she feels a dream coming about the Ghana-Germany match. But dreams and nightmares aside, it is possible that the match against Germany could be our last meaningful engagement for Brazil 2014.

If that happens, it would be sad not because of what we would have failed to achieve on the field but for the missed opportunity it represents in the broader world outside sports . We ought to have used our participation in the World Cup to strengthen our national unity, brand the nation in a specific way and announce to the world that Ghana is open for business.

Fortunately, as the Akan proverb says, “it is bent but not broken is the king of all proverbs”. This means, we should be happy to salvage the best we can from a seemingly hopeless situation. Let us use the few hours and to send the strongest support for the team. Let us wave the flag, show the colours and walk the talk. In any way we can, let us show the red, gold and green.