GHANA are bent on achieving another first on the African continent.
GHANA are bent on achieving another first on the African continent.
The Ghanaian national soccer side is at least 90 minutes away from becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals. The Black Stars engage Uruguay in the quarterfinals at Soccer City tomorrow at 8.30pm.
Others firsts achieved by Ghana include being the first African country to gain independence, in 1957, led by the great Kwame Nkrumah.
Ghana were also the last African team standing in the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Brazil.
In October last year the Black Stars became the first African team to qualify for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Ghana became the third African country to reach the World Cup quarterfinals after dumping the United States out of the tournament, beating them 2-1 in Phokeng last Saturday.
The team led by Stephen Appiah equalled the record set by the Roger Milla-led Cameroon in Italy in 1990 and Senegal, who included El Hadji Diouf, in Korea and Japan in 2002.
"The win over United States is a historic one for us. There is improvement in the team after reaching the last 16 in our first World Cup appearance in 2006," Appiah said.
"We worked hard for that game and are happy that we have been able to make the entire African continent happy, we also appreciate their support. The long run to freedom for Africa continues against Uruguay, it will be a tough match for us but there is no turning back.
"We are taking each game as it comes, the target now is the semifinals. We want to become the first team in Africa to reach the semifinals.
"Anything can happen in the knockout stages, we want to end our World Cup campaign on July 11. The tournament is in Africa, so Africa must be in the forefront," Appiah said.
Ghana out to raise the bar
GHANA are bent on achieving another first on the African continent.
GHANA are bent on achieving another first on the African continent.
The Ghanaian national soccer side is at least 90 minutes away from becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals. The Black Stars engage Uruguay in the quarterfinals at Soccer City tomorrow at 8.30pm.
Others firsts achieved by Ghana include being the first African country to gain independence, in 1957, led by the great Kwame Nkrumah.
Ghana were also the last African team standing in the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Brazil.
In October last year the Black Stars became the first African team to qualify for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Ghana became the third African country to reach the World Cup quarterfinals after dumping the United States out of the tournament, beating them 2-1 in Phokeng last Saturday.
The team led by Stephen Appiah equalled the record set by the Roger Milla-led Cameroon in Italy in 1990 and Senegal, who included El Hadji Diouf, in Korea and Japan in 2002.
"The win over United States is a historic one for us. There is improvement in the team after reaching the last 16 in our first World Cup appearance in 2006," Appiah said.
"We worked hard for that game and are happy that we have been able to make the entire African continent happy, we also appreciate their support. The long run to freedom for Africa continues against Uruguay, it will be a tough match for us but there is no turning back.
"We are taking each game as it comes, the target now is the semifinals. We want to become the first team in Africa to reach the semifinals.
"Anything can happen in the knockout stages, we want to end our World Cup campaign on July 11. The tournament is in Africa, so Africa must be in the forefront," Appiah said.
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