As the Black Stars of Ghana prepare for another crack at the World Cup in Qatar, we examine how they have fared in their previous trips to the Mundial.
When we discuss Ghana’s World Cup history, the first thing that comes to mind is their phenomenal run to the quarterfinals in 2010.
The 2010 team deserves all the attention and accolades they get, but Ghana’s World Cup story, although short, is deeper than their superb run in South Africa.
In Ghana’s three previous World Cup appearances, the Black Stars have progressed from the round-robin phase on two occasions.
Do we all still remember how Ghana reached the second round in their World Cup debut in Germany 2006?
Led by Stephen Appiah and parading the likes of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and current head coach, Otto Addo, Ghana lost to Italy in their opening match, before scoring historic wins against Czech Republic and USA to qualify for the second round.
They eventually came unstuck in the Round of 16 against Brazil.
That performance laid the foundation for what happened four years later when the Black Stars reached the quarterfinals and came agonizingly close to being the first African team to make the semis of the competition.
Victory over Serbia in their opening match set the Stars up nicely, and despite playing out a draw with Australia and losing to Germany in their remaining group matches, they progressed to a second-round meeting with the USA.
Asamoah Gyan scored the winner as Ghana recorded a 2-1 extra-time victory over the Americans to become just the third African team to reach the last eight of the World Cup, after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002.
And then there was that crazy quarterfinal against Uruguay.
With the match tied at 1-1 in the closing stages of extra time, Gyan thought he’d scored the winner until Luis Suarez channelled his goal-keeping skills to push his effort away from the goal line.
The referee had no choice but to show Suarez the red card and award Ghana a penalty, leaving the west African team an Asamoah Gyan penalty kick away from rewriting history.
Gyan blazed his kick over the bar as heightened expectations quickly became unbearable despair for the thousands of Ghanaian fans in the stadium and millions more back at home.
Uruguay went on to win on penalties in what remains arguably the most heartbreaking story in Ghanaian football history.
Ghana returned to the World Cup for a third consecutive edition in 2014, and despite failing to make it out of the group phase for the first time, they were certainly not disgraced.
In the end, they will look back at an opening defeat against the United States as what ultimately cost them a second-round ticket.
The Black Stars conceded an 86th-minute winner to the Americans, having only equalised four minutes earlier.
They went on to draw 2-2 with Germany before losing their final group match to Portugal in an incredibly tough group.
Having missed the 2018 edition, Ghana returns to the Mundial in 2022, hoping to make up for lost time and create another lasting impression.
The Black Stars will be up against some very familiar foes in their group, not least Uruguay, with Portugal and South Korea being the other teams in the group.
Portugal are clearly the outstanding team in that group and are favourites to grab one of the two qualifying tickets, but the remaining second-round spot appears quite open.
The best betting sites in Ghana already have World Cup betting markets, and the odds on Ghana progressing to the second round are quite decent.
Given Ghana’s World Cup track record and considering how they defied the odds to qualify for Qatar 2022, don’t bet against the Black Stars putting together another run in the Middle East.
