Joining a few band of African sides to reach the quarter-finals at the World Cup is fuelling Ghana’s ambition to secure a win over the United States on Saturday.
Both sides clash in the last 16 stage of the competition at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium with the winner advancing to play either Uruguay or South Korea in the quarter-final stage
For the Black Stars, who are in the World Cup for only the second time, their success in the competition is not only shared back home in Accra but by the entire African continent.
Ghana is the lone African team to reach the knockout stage and young defender Lee Addy explains that the team is eager to achieve something for the rest of Africa with the continent’s other sides all having exited after the first round.
“We are extra motivated to go all out because we are not only representing Ghana. We know we are carrying the hope and aspirations of the African continent,” the World Cup debutant said.
“Many expected the African teams to do well in the continent’s first ever World Cup but unfortunately five of the teams have been knocked out leaving Ghana alone. We want to keep the flag of Ghana and Africa high.”
Addy,19, who has one World Cup game to his name expects a difficult tie against the US but is hopeful that the Black Stars can repeat their 2006 debut victory over the Americans when Ghana beat them 2-1 in the final group stage match.
“We beat them four years ago but they are almost a different set up now. USA is a solid and a well organised team.
“Playing them won’t be easy. They have good players who have a lot of experience from playing in Europe, but we also have quality and experienced players.
“We have a mission here. Our mission is to surprise the world and we know very well that we have to put up a great performance against the Americans to keep our dream alive.
“We reached the second round in our first World Cup four years ago and we have equalled that record now. But we want to do better than that and go very far in this competition,” Addy said.
The central defender who can also play at left-back says he has achieved a personal dream by playing at the World Cup but admits he least expected it to have come that soon.
“The World Cup is the greatest sporting event in the World and it’s the dream of every footballer to play in the World Cup. It’s always been my dream to play in the World Cup but to be honest I didn’t anticipate it would come so early in my career.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to play in the World Cup and rub shoulders with some of the best players in the world.
“I’m learning a lot from the World both in the Ghana camp and on the field. At training, I learn a lot from my senior colleagues, who do not hesitate to advice me. And being on the pitch against some of the best players in the world is morale boosting.”