Black Stars Strategy Against The Pharaohs Must Be This

By Napoleon Ato Kittoe

In the last three matches between them, Ghana has won twice, and Egypt once. Egypt 1 Ghana 0 in a cup final played in Angola. Ghana won the home and away ties on an aggregate of 5-3, its home game in Kumasi by a wide margin of 5-1. These results were recorded between 2010 and 2016.

When playing against Egypt, expect speed upfront, a lot of wing play, and a marauding attack. They have one or two trusted defenders to deal with any danger. Egypt usually has reliable goalkeepers, and that pads the backline for efficiency.

To deal with such opponents, a team must aspire to see more of the ball, by way of possession, so as to deny the Egyptians from hanging on the ball for their trademark runs which are very dangerous.

A possessive football would also force Egypt to commit mistakes as that builds up frustration. Their mistakes would then grant the opposing team, set-pieces, breathing space, and the opportunity to hit back.

In the midfield action, you don’t allow Egypt to knock the ball around, and to engineer space for their darting runs. Ghana would need to revisit the tactics employed by Coaches Jones Attuquayefio, and Sam Arday, whose zonal marking and multi-system respectively, adopted at the junior levels pulled off successfully. Both are deceased but their legacies are indispensable fountains, and relevant for the times.

When you play against Egypt, you need alacrity and a fight in you. You oblige them to their pace. This means the technical handlers must work on the stamina of the players.

In the multi-system, players ought to be instinctive holding themselves in readiness to provide cover in situations where the others are immersed in action spots. That could be confounding to any opponent which is probably adjusted to the textbooks, and holding onto a static perception of opponents.

The zonal marking overlaps the multi-system in its approach. Here, players are tasked to focus on opponents in the spaces they are operating by moving in unison to thwart the opponent. A kind of back up support system which is crucially needed on the part of Ghana to avoid wastage and provide steel.

The full-backs of Black Stars need this tactic. Players in other positions must observe where the ball is rolling, and chase up to help the on-rushing colleagues.

You only need self-belief to score against Egypt. Shoot from all angles, and at a close range, compose yourself very well to sensibly displace the goalie. As attackers, you are bound to be disturbed by defenders, and that is why you would need the combination of focus, smartness, and vision to outwit them.

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