Never before have the hopes of the nation tipped so high in recent memory than the upcoming penultimate stage of fighting to play in the most decorated pinnacle of games on earth. Ghana hosts South Africa in the Fifa 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Sunday night.
Sunday | November 14, 2021
The tough road to Qatar 2022 is on balance between South Africa and Ghana as they embark on their final group-stage matches at Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Central Region, in Ghana tonight at 21:00.
Bafana Bafana [SA senior men’s soccer team] tops Group G with 13 points. They travel to Ghana for their do-or-die clash which will determine the outright winners of the group. The Black Stars [Ghana] are second behind SA with 10 points. The teams that finish as group leaders among African nations will automatically go to the next round of the FIFA (Federation of International Football Association) World Cup qualifying playoffs.
As far as its group is concerned, South Africa is in a better position to finish at the top since a mere draw will be sufficient to retain the lead. The onus is on Ghana to take the game by the scruff of its neck and overturn the SA 3-point advantage. To its benefit, Ghana will be playing at home tonight.
South Africa beat Ghana 1-0 two months ago – Sept. 3, 2021 – in their first encounter. Their second meet will be one of the most difficult one for SA head coach Hugo Broos yet. The majority of his opponents have been exposed to the highest standards of football in Europe. Contrary, Broos’ charges are largely drawn from the domestic league. The temperature will be totally different because it is the launching pad to get closer to the World Cup.
While SA will be well-satisfied coming from a midweek win against Zimbabwe, Ghana will be under pressure as a result of sharing the spoils with Ethiopia. They need nothing short of victory to go past and edge SA out of the qualifying race. The later will qualify with just a draw; and win will mean getting over the group convincingly.
Having said that, the Ghana-SA showdown was always going to be an intriguing affair given their history. And the gap between them and the other two (Ethiopia & Zimbabwe) also playing at the same is quite big.
World Cup Playoffs
The winner of Group G will join the other group to fight for their place in FIFA World Cup in Qatar next year. This is a unique and the most challenging arrangement to qualify for the global football festival that occurs every four years. The ultimate winners of the (10) groups in the African sphere will battle it out in a home-and-away clash to get only five countries that will participate in Qatar 2022.