They might not be camping on the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro, but Ghana’s Black Stars have simulated altitude conditions in Kenya not unlike those that will confront them at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium for the crunch World Cup qualifying game against Bafana Bafana on Saturday.
Safa’s Director of International Affairs, Barney Kujane, on Sunday revealed details of the Black Stars’ meticulous ”master plan” to repeat the 3-0 mauling of Bafana in an earlier World Cup qualifying game and disclosed the Ghana squad would only be arriving in South Africa from their camping base in Kenya late on Thursday night.
”The Ghanaians are well aware their hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Germany are dependant on a favourable result against Bafana,” said Kujane, ”and they have planned their strategy to the minutest detail”.
”They believe it would not be advantagous to be in South Africa for too long before Saturday’s game,” added Kujane, ”but they feel it essential for their training camp to be held in similar conditions to those on the Highveld — and the site they have chosen in Kenya is ideally-suited for this purpose.”
A varied 25-man Ghana squad under the leadership of Stephen Appiah has consequently been assembled in Kenya for eight days, with the Juventus-based captain and FC Lyon’s formidable Michael Essien rated the chief dangers to Bafana.
Appiah scored twice in Ghana’s stunning 3-0 success against South Africa and has expressed confidence in the Black Stars repeating the result at the FNB Stadium.
A conspicuous absentee from the Ghana squad is granite-like central defender Samuel Kuffour, who was last week transferred from German champions Bayern Munich to Italy’s Roma. – Sapa