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| Ghana : A semi-finals against Spain… |
A tactical row is going to oppose the Ghana ‘Black Starlets’ to the Spain ‘Furia Roja’ at the Ulsan Complex Stadium to determine who will have the honour of contesting Sunday’s Final. Ghana qualified for the semi-finals last Saturday after defeating Peru 2-0 at Changwon Main Stadium. Strikers Sadick ADAMS and Ransford OSEI scored for their country.
The most interesting thing to notice is that the two semi-finals will oppose an African country to a European side: Spain versus Ghana and Nigeria versus Germany. This will be the second time in the history of the FIFA U-17 World Cup that both semi-finals put an African side against a European side. The first time was back in 1987 with the following results: Italy-Nigeria 0-1 and USSR-Côte d’Ivoire 5-1.
Neither Ghana nor Spain have any suspension problems, but if Ghana coach Sellas TETTEH’s full squad is at his disposal, his opposite number Juan SANTISTEBAN is not sure he can line up midfielder JORDI and defender Alberto MORGADO who are suffering an ankle injury and a muscle strain respectively. The two teams have already met four times at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, including twice in 1991 when they played a 0-0 draw in the first round before meeting up again in the Final, Ghana clinching the trophy after defeating his opponent side 1-0. The “Black Starlets” also claimed a 2-1 victory in the semi-final of the 1997 tournament, while the other match was a 1-1 draw in 1999.
The result of to-night’s match will depend on how Ghana’s potent strike duo of Ransford OSEI, who is so far the best scorer of the competition with five goals on his counter, and Sadick ADAMS fare against the solid Spanish defence, marshalled by in-form goalkeeper David de GEA.
Samuel MBAJUM
(Source: FIFA. com)
05/09/2007 |
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