The excitement is building as we get closer to opening match of the 2010 World Cup. The Great Tournament is less than a month away and the anticipation of the 1st African World Cup is building, its going to be great. The next Group D team to breakdown comes from the West African nation of Ghana.

Official Name: Ghana Football Association


Nickname: The Black Stars

FIFA Confederation: CAF (Africa)

FIFA Code: GHA

How They Qualified: 1st place in Group D of African WC Qualifying

World Cup Appearances (Including 2010): 2

Best WC Finish: Round of 16, Germany 2006

World Cup Record (MP: Wins - Draws - Losses): 4: 2W - 0D - 2L

Head Coach: Milovan Rajevac

Most Capped Player (# of caps): Abédi Pelé (73)

All-Time Goal Scoring Leader (# of goals): Abédi Pelé (33)

Brief Footballing History:
The team known as The Black Stars on the continental level are one of the Top 3 African teams of all time having won the African Cup of Nations 4 times and a record 8 ACN finals appearances. In their 1st World Cup in 2006, they advanced out of their group, the senior team is starting to blossom after the successes of their youth sides.

The Ghana U-20 side are the defending FIFA World Youth Championship title holders and have appeared in 3 FIFA WYC final matches. The Under-17 sides have been a major force in FIFA tournaments as well. Ghana's U-17 have won 2 FIFA U-17 World titles and finished in 3rd place or higher in 5 straight tournaments from 1991 to 1999.

Player To Watch:
Ghana's player to watch comes from a legendary footballer and is seen as one of the upcoming talents in African & European club football, his name is André Dede Ayew.

Photo by tv3.com.gh
André is the son of Ghana's greatest player, Abedi Pele Ayew. André is one of the hottest prospects in Europe and under contract with recently crowned French champions, Olympique Marseille. The 20-year old winger/attacking midfielder was named to Ghana's preliminary 30-man squad and was the captain of the Ghana's World Champion Under-20 side. He gained valuable senior team experience by featuring in every match of Ghana's run to the 2010 African Cup of Nations final.

Outlook:
The Black Stars have shown that they can progress out of the group stage of the WC. Their style of play is a physical, grinding style that specializes in 1-0 results and with only 3 players over 30 years old the team is entering their prime. For Ghana to make a deeper run they will have to score more goals. The goals need to come from the creation in midfield from André Ayew and Kwadwo Asamoah and the finishing from Asamoah Gyan and Matthew Amoah.

WC Group Schedule:
June 13 vs. Serbia
June 19 vs. Australia
June 23 vs. Germany

Group D Team Breakdowns conclude with Serbia