Stars must break the goal drought!

Today will mark another watershed in the football relationship between Ghana and Nigeria as the two West African neighbours meet at the CHAN semi-finals in South Africa.

From colonial times to date matches between the two countries at any level of competition have conjured emotions, passion and uneasiness among their fans, with the results drifting either way.

But today’s clash will be a landmark event — a CAF competition that may go a long way in evaluating the strengths of the national leagues of the two countries, as the format of the tournament only allows for players engaged in the local leagues.
 
This, however, may not be a very reliable way of measuring the potency of the domestic leagues of the two powerful football nations, the followers of who would have relished a showdown in the grand final.

It is against this backdrop that we seem to agree with those fans who hold the view that the meeting has come too early in the tournament and that the two should have been playing in the final today.

Whatever happens today can be of significance for the two countries as they head for the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil in June.

Indeed, it could affect their rankings, FIFA having already indicated that it would from now take into account the CHAN tournament in its rankings.

We, therefore, expect to see both teams play their best yet at the tournament. But the better side may not be the eventual winner, since, traditionally, form has not often been the decider in matches between the two countries.

However, the outcome can serve as a psychological boost for either of them in the run-up to the Mundial, more so for Nigeria, who are already carrying the title of Africa champions after winning the more prestigious Africa Nations Cup last year.

In all frankness, the Black Stars have not had the luxury of goals at the CHAN, compared to the Super Eagles, which makes every Ghanaian feel jittery about today’s clash.

Indeed, when it comes to goal-scoring, the Nigerians have not been that charitable as we found in opponents such as Congo Brazzaville, Libya, Ethiopia and DR Congo.

While the Stars have not scored more than a goal in a match, the Eagles have at times scored three and even four, coming from three goals down.
Where will the goals, therefore, come from for the Stars should the Eagles maintain their scoring appetite today?

We can predict the Stars winning the day when they break their goal drought or what has become known in Ghanaian parlance as ‘the one-goal project’!