A frustrating South Africa 2010 looks to continue for Australia as the Socceroos take on Ghana on Saturday. Pim Verbeek will be missing Tim Cahill, suspended for having picked-up a red card in Oz’s match with Germany, and with significant match-up problems along the back against Ghana’s four attacking players, Australia will need something extra-tactical - something beyond the players themselves - to get a result against Ghana.
World Cup 2010 Ghana Vs. Australia: The Socceroos Quest For Survival
That something could be time. If Ghana fails to take the match to the Australians, the Socceroos get a chance to settle into life without Cahill and recover from the leather belt they felt at the hand of Germany. However, if Ghana can threaten early, even if they don’t score, they will keep that seed of doubt in the Aussies’ minds.
I suppose after you lose 4-0, there may be two seeds of doubt.
Ghana, Going Forward: Ghana can be conservative going forward, but the decision to go with an attacking midfielder three (in their 4-2-3-1) of Prince Tagoe, Kwadwo Asamoah, and Andre Ayew has added an element of dynamism the Black Stars had previously missed. On the wings, Tagoe and Ayew offer two quick, athletic options that are capable of quickly gaining territory, and with Asamoah’s ability to go wide and support, using his skill to move the Stars back through the defense or provide service on crosses, Ghana has a formula to threaten anybody. Once Tagoe and Ayew develop such that they can start more consistently threatening goal, Ghana will have a dangerous (as opposed to merely capable) attack.
The person who has to make the midfielder’s work pay-off is Asamoah Gyan. The team’s lone forward will be tasked with playing along a Australia back line that will feature Luke Wilshire, Craig Moore, Lucas Neill and Scott Chipperfield. Against all of them, particularly the center halves, Gyan will be able to use his speed to open up space, and with the ability to play wide, he will make the Ghanian wingers even more dangerous if he is able to exploit the channels that open-up between fullback and center half.
Australia, Going Forward: Tim Cahill’s suspension means Pim Verbeek likely forces Harry Kewell, who has played very little in the last seven months while recovering from groin surgery, into the lineup. Because Verbeek doesn’t know what he will get from Kewell, Joshua Kennedy likely comes back into the team as a second scoring threat, with the Socceroos playing more of a 4-4-2 than the 4-5-1/4-6-0 we saw against Germany.
In this formation, Australia is usually very blunt. Whomever the wings are amongst Brett Emerton, Richard Garcia and Mark Bresciano will combine with Chipperfield and Wilshire to target the 6’6" Kennedy and hope for the best: Harry Kewell running onto a ball. With Cahill in the lineup this approach could work, as the Socceroos would have a second player capable of winning an aerial challenge. But without Cahill, going up against John Mensah and Isaac Vorsah, Australia could be frustrated as well as frustrating.
How The Match Turns: Ghana tends to start conservatively, but once they have confidence in what the pace of the match will be, they should be too fast on the flanks for the Australians, which will create more opportunities as the Aussies are forced to commit people wide. If Ghana does not get a first half goal they will be in for a fight against an Australia team who will have regained their confidence, but Ghana 2, Australia 0 could add to what looks to be a frustrating South Africa 2010 for the men of Oz.
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