OUR STARS CAN'T FAIL

TOMORROW, at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra, the senior national football team, the Black Stars, and their arch rivals, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, will sell a crunch duel at the quarter-final stage of the ongoing Ghana 2008 football tournament and Ghanaians expect nothing but a clean win from the Stars.
Enriched by some of the best talents on the African continent, the Black Stars have, through the group stage performance, already done enough to position themselves as one of the favourites in the 16-team event.
There is no doubt about the team’s prowess, especially when the team coach has thrown the challenge that it is unbeatable, after sending the highly rated Moroccans packing home and amassing the maximum nine points from three matches.
The other teams that fell to the Ghanaian football power were Guinea and Namibia.
It must be noted that during football encounters between Ghana and Nigeria, two of the most formidable sides in the sub-region, whether at the friendly or competitive level, intense rivalry has been displayed not only on the field of play but sometimes outside it and among supporters who passionately engage in all forms of arguments.
As in previous games, the tension around tomorrow’s game is being felt all over, from Lagos to Accra. In Ghana, nothing less than a resounding victory is expected from the Black Stars, just as Nigerians also expect the same performance from the Super Eagles.
Having come this far, and playing against a Super Eagles team which was almost out of the competition until they were salvaged by Cote d’Ivoire’s 3-0 victory over Mali, the Stars can’t afford to disappoint their home fans.
And as crucial as their assignment is, the moment also calls for all Ghanaians to say some prayers for the national team and give them their unflinching support to enable them to win the game and proceed from there to the ultimate continental diadem for a fifth Nations Cup victory.
We urge the Stars to play their hearts out, since the Super Eagles, having faltered and wobbled to reach this stage, will go all out to portray to the rest of the world that their being number one on the continent is no fluke.
This is pertinent because, as the adage goes, “He who is down fears no fall”. It is in this light that the Nigerians will play a psychological prank on the Stars.
Both teams are expected to display good football and sell out great sportsmanship on the field of play.
We also urge the Stars to remain focused on their mission, play according to their game plan and to the rules of the game and be the main determinants of the match’s billing as the final before the final.
Similarly, spectators of both teams are expected to exhibit maturity in cheering their respective teams to victory, bearing in mind that much as the game is competitive and involves passion, it is one which must by all means produce a winner and definitely only one team can emerge as winner.
It is our fervent hope that at the end of the day, when the referee blows his final whistle, victory will go to the best team and may that team be our gallant Stars.