Germany coach, Joachim Loew, has been praise-singing of the high standard performance Ghana displayed in their 2-2 drawn group match at the Brazil World Cup in Fortaleza last Saturday.
Short of admitting that the Stars deserved to have won on the night, Loew, who was also the helmsman when Germany beat Ghana 1-0 in a similar group match in South Africa four years ago, spoke highly of the quality they met in Ghana and believed it was the kind of test his team needed at this level going forward in the tournament.
In a post-match press conference at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza, the German was confident that his team could face any opposition at the tournament after the encounter with Ghana. Sounding as confident as a peacock, Loew said: “From the match that Ghana gave us, we don’t feel scared of any team, we can face any team at this tournament”.
He seemed to be particularly astounded by the pace, strength and rhythm of the Ghanaians which, the German tactician admitted, his charges found difficult to match, indicating that ” the African teams are playing stronger and faster as displayed by Ghana today.”
Also impressed by the performance of the Stars was Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, who patted the players on the back for their wonderful display.
The Sports Minister, who has been in Brazil since the Stars moved there and has become the number one fan, was full of smiles after last Saturday’s match but not appearing to have forgotten the team’s earlier shocking 2-1 defeat suffered against the USA.
“Great improvement on our first match. The boys gave their all but just unfortunate that we did not win,” the sports minister said gleefully during a brief mixed zone interaction.
“Indeed, the boys have shown that they are as good as any other team in this tournament” he stressed buoyantly, only regretting the false start in the game against the USA.
Source Daily Graphic
