Pride at stake as Ghana play Burkina Faso for bronze
Avram Grant may be compelled to play some of his second choice players this evening as the Black Stars seek consolation in the bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament with a clash with neighbours Burkina Faso at the Stade de Port-Gentil.
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It is a match the Stars hardly imagined playing until their dreams came crashing in Franceville where they lost 2-0 to the Indomitable Lions and, therefore, set up a date with the Stallions in a replay of their clash at the 2013 tournament when the Burkinabe ran away victors in Neslpurit, South Africa.
Since that victory at the Mbombela stadium, the Stallions have improved as a team and their run here in Gabon had been impressive until luck eluded them during a semi-final shootout against seven-time champions Egypt in Libreville.
Perhaps, winning bronze may be no great achievement for a side that won silver four years ago but it will provide a consolation and bragging rights if they end their campaign with a famous victory against their more successful neighbours.
Since booking a quarter-final ticket in Group D, the Ghana coach made no secret about his dislike for the poor quality of pitch at the Stade de Port-Gentil but circumstances have compelled him to return to the team’s old base where the Israeli trainer must motivate his dispirited players to rise up to the challenge against a Burkinabe side who have an extra rest day to recharge their batteries after their bruising two-hour battle with the Pharaohs.
“To be honest, third place is not the game we wish to play; it’s not interesting but we’ll prepare for the game,” said Grant last Thursday.
However, just as the Stars overcame a semi-final loss to Egypt at the 2008 AFCON before defeating Cote d’Ivoire in Kumasi for the bronze medal, Andre Ayew remains hopeful they would put last Thursday’s loss behind them and bounce back against another neighbouring country.
“When you’re playing for your country there is always the motivation to play, even though our priority was to go to the final,” said Ayew, who was part of the bronze medal-winning side nine years ago.
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While Grant wants to restore national pride by defeating the Burkinabes in what could be his final competitive game in charge of Ghana, he hinted that he could be handing starting places to some of his players who have hardly featured in the competition so far, including goalkeeper Fatau Dauda in place of under-fire Razak Braimah, Samuel Tetteh, right-back Andy Yiadom and forward Emmanuel Assifuah.