Kalusha Bwalya has sent a strong warning to Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal that Ghana are good enough to win their World Cup group opener.
WHAT HAPPENED? The Black Stars will kick off their campaign at the global competition in the Gulf nation with a fixture against the Selecao at Stadium 974 (Rass Abou Aboud) on Thursday.
Ghana under coach Otto Addo will be keen for a positive start against a strong Portugal side, who have in their ranks Manchester United duo of Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
However, according to the 59-year-old Bwalya, who is Zambia’s eighth-most capped player, the Black Stars have what it takes to defeat the Selecao.
WHAT HE SAID: “They should go into the game as Ghana, they are a very good team, very strong team and they can go there and dish it out against the best in the world and I feel they have a chance in the first game, to get a positive result,” Bwalya told SuperSport TV.
If they can get the result, they will send a strong message to the rest of the teams in the group that they mean business.”
WHAT IS MORE? Bwalya, however, warned the Black Stars against losing their opener insisting it will send a negative signal in their intentions to do well in the tournament.
“Because it is only three games, the first game is very important in a tournament. If you lose the first game, then the hand breaks are out and you expose yourself, and you go into the next game, you risk everything and then you are back on your way home.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ghana will be taking part in their fourth World Cup having featured in the 2006, 2010, and 2014 editions. Their best display was in 2010 in South Africa when they advanced past the group stage and reached the quarter-finals where they lost to Uruguay on penalties.
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WHAT NEXT FOR GHANA: After taking on Portugal, Ghana, who are in Group H, will return to action against South Korea at Education City Stadium on November 28 before they wind up their group matches against Uruguay at Al Janoub Stadium on December 2.
Source: goal.com