Ghana
Introduction
The Black Stars arrive in Equatorial Guinea after a disappointing 2014. They may be happy to be there, but that says more about the difficulties they had en route to the Cup of Nations than the form they are in.
In the immediate past, though they suffered only one defeat in their six qualifying matches, theirs was a distinctly uninspiring campaign, failing to beat Uganda in either match and also drawing against Guinea in neutral Morocco. It ultimately saw off two coaches, beginning with Kwesi Appiah in September after two years in charge, and then caretaker boss Maxwell Konadu, who failed to win away from home.
But overshadowing this is the enormous disappointment of the 2014 World Cup. It started badly with the late defeat to the USA, which immediately made qualifying very difficult, and despite a battling draw against Germany, a second late defeat to Portugal eliminated them at the group stage for the first time. What made this particularly galling was the winnable nature of the group (despite being drawn with the future world champions), the conservative tactics of Appiah and the off-field bust-ups that have left Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari out of the picture again.
Avram Grant now takes charge after a
Avram Grant takes over after a long, drawn-out appointment process. The task the former Israel and Chelsea manager has been charged with is not only winning matches, but also restoring pride and confidence in the Ghana team and making them opponents to be feared once again. The tough group they face will not help his cause.
The Framework
It's hard to know exactly how Ghana are going to play under a manager who won't have taken charge of the team for a competitive game by the start of the tournament, but it seems unlikely they will deviate far from the style in which they were playing in the qualifying matches. At home, their seven goals scored in three games suggests more attacking tactics than on the road, where they scored just four, three of which came in one game against Togo, the last match under Kwesi Appiah. With little flair in the team, expect Avram to keep it conservative in this tournament.
Strengths
Experience and youth - Look down the list of Ghanaian players in the most recent squads and you will notice their relative youth. Even captain Asamoah Gyan, who played