Last Sunday, the senior national team, the Black Stars, beat their much-fancied opponents, the Serbian national team, by one goal to nil in their opening match in the ongoing World Cup tournament at the Rustenburg Stadium in South Africa.
By that victory, the Black Stars chalked up the enviable feat of being the first and only African nation to have so far recorded a victory at the soccer mundial.
The victory of our gallant Stars, without doubt, means a lot not only for Ghana and Africa but also the entire Black race.
Last Sunday, moments after the referee blew his whistle for the end of the match, Ghanaians from all walks of life and all social, political, religious and ethnic orientations crowded onto the streets in wild jubilation.
Indeed, the streets of cities, towns and villages across the country took on a carnival mood, with people singing, drumming and dancing well into the night.
By this feat, the Stars brought Ghanaians of diverse backgrounds who, hitherto, did not see eye to eye on almost everything together to celebrate and at least temporarily bury their differences.
Thus, our boys, per their victory, were able to do in grand style what politics, religion, chieftaincy, among others, have failed to achieve by way of uniting our people.
The victory of the Stars, coming in the wake of a draw and two losses by the three African representatives which had already played their matches (including host nation South Africa), enabled the African continent to heave a huge sigh of relief.
Among others, it lent a new lease of life to the yearning expectations among Africans that in this first World Cup on African soil, the least the African representatives can do is play in the finals, if not lift the coveted trophy for the first time.
Gone is the era when, as a result of inferiority complex, African nations felt petrified in matches against their opponents from Europe, South America and Asia and became pushovers at world tournaments, receiving in their nets large numbers of goals which could be the envy of even cricket matches.
Today, Africa is a match for any continent when it comes to soccer and African nations can and do stand toe to toe against any opposition, hence the expectation that the World Cup can remain here.
It is not in dispute that the success of the Stars can largely, if not solely, be attributed to cohesion and compact teamwork in which all members give of their best and play with so much commitment and dedication.
Ghana went to the tournament without Michael Essien and many were those who doubted something meaningful would come out of the match against the Serbians and, by extension, the tournament as a whole.
But the Stars proved the sceptics wrong and said loudly, “Yes, we can!”
And, yes, they did!
While congratulating our gallant boys on making Ghana and Africa proud, we would like to counsel against any complacency on the part of the team, as that could prove fatal.
The Australians, our next opponents, are a frustrated and desperate side, having been walloped 4 – 0 by Germany.
They should not be underrated but rather be tackled with an even greater zeal and determination than what was displayed against Serbia to ensure qualification into the second round.
We are conscious that the Stars are properly psyched up and ready to blow the Socceroos apart and thus lend credence to the saying that it is not the size of a person in a fight that matters but the size of the fight in the person.
Go, Stars! Go, go, go!
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