Giants of two respective continents collide as Ghana face off Colombia in Group A match opener of FIFA under-17 World Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on Friday. Both nations are back in the tournament after a long gap and are eager to prove themselves on the grand stage.
Ghana are looking to showcase their talent as the leaders of Africa again.
"We are here to prove that we are still the leaders of Africa," said the Ghana coach Paa Kwesi Fabin. "We know we are back in this tournament after a long time but every good team take time to get better."
Colombia, on the other hand, are very confident about their team as an unit and will stick to their style, irrespective of the opponent's most-talked-about physical strength.
"We are one unit," Colombia coach Orlando Restrepo said. "Just like a body, we have many parts but we work in unison. We respect all the teams, all of them are strong, Ghana are physically strong we know but we will play the way we always play, we will like to see a lot of possession, dominate the game."
Big Promise
Ghana are known to be a stubborn side to score against when they defend in numbers, and are lightening quick on the counter attack. It is no easy task to break that defence.
If any side is capable of posing serious questions to this African side, it has to be the Restrepos's boys. Blessed with variety in attack — Yadir Bentacur (right winger), Jaminton Campaz (left winger), Deyman Cortes (striker) and Brayan Gomez (centre-attacking midfielders) — Colombians are well equipped to hack any defensive wall in the world.
But Ghanian defender Gideon Acquah said he is ready to face their South American counterparts and will give it their all to keep them from scoring.
"We know they have strong attack but we won't be demoralised by that," Acquah said. "We have prepared well for this match and will give our best on the field."
Ghana's counter-attack
But coach Restrepo's Achilles heel and match-deciding factor could be Ghana's lightening quick counter-attacking quartet. The forward line led by Eric Ayah — which also includes Emmanuel Toku, Mohammed Iddris and Gabirel leveh — charge on the break is a humongous challenge to deal with. The South American backline consists of swift runners captain Thomas Gutierrez and Andres Cifuentes and could play a key role to negate the effectiveness of Ayah and company.
Skipper Gutierrez said they will play their way irrespective of Ghana's attacking strength.
"They do have a strong attack but we won't change the way we play, we will play our natural game," said Gutierrez. "Any challenge thrown at us, we will deal with it like we always do."
The fact that opening match is being played between two heavy favourites for the title, there couldn't have been a better alternative for the first ever World Cup game in India. Both sides have reached here after years of grooming, hard work and perseverance. The stage is all set for this footballing extravaganza.