Stars To Finish Hard

THE SENIOR national team, the Black Stars have vowed to finish their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign on a winning note in Kumasi tomorrow.

Ghana, who are on their way to their second successive FIFA World Cup, have vowed to tear their opponents, Mali, to pieces as the two sides clash at the Baba Yara Stadium tomorrow on the last day of the qualifiers.

The four-time Africa champions picked the solitary slot for the mundial by winning their first four matches in Group D, which also comprised the likes of Sudan and Benin.

Ghana, who kick-started their campaign on a flashy note, were enjoying a jolly ride in the qualifiers until they suffered a shocking solitary defeat to Benin which has somehow tainted the Black Stars impressive record.

Already, soccer fans in Kumasi who are yet to comprehend Ghana's loss to Benin, are putting immense pressure on the Black Stars players to go all out on Sunday and redeem their image against Mali.

This all-important victory, the fans insisted, would send strong signals that Ghana are a strong force to reckon with and that they would not be push-overs during the World Cup proper.

In response to the fans' call for total victory, Black Stars Skipper Stephen Appiah, addressing the media, said, “Ghana will not show any mercy on Mali. We will go out to thrash Mali so as to bring the smiles back on the faces of our fans.”

Ghana's qualification to the World Cup, he noted, would not make the players complacent with regard to tomorrow's match.  

The Black Stars players, according to him, have put the Benin shocker behind them and would therefore go all out to secure the three maximum points at stake in the Mali duel.

Meanwhile, reports reaching DAILY GUIDE SPORTS indicate that there has been a mad rush for tickets for Sunday's cracker since tickets for the game were brought on sale Thursday.

A staff of the National Sports Council, speaking on anonymity, hinted that sales had so far been encouraging, stating “this is an indication that we will have a full house on Sunday.”

Still on the cracker, the entire Garden City has been gripped with the Ghana/Mali fever.

A staunch soccer fan, Appiah Stadium told DAILY GUIDE SPORTS that Kumasi would accept nothing less than a total thrashing of Mali on Sunday.

“We need to go the World Cup with a big win,” he said.

In other qualifiers, Egypt engage Algeria in a do-or-die affair. Being the biggest attraction on the concluding match day in Africa, the encounter, which takes place in Cairo, will determine the fate of either of the two teams.

Other Fixtures
Group A                             
Morocco-Cameroon   
Togo-Gabon    
Group B                        
Mozambique-Tunisia     
Kenya-Nigeria               
Group C
Egypt-Algeria
Rwanda-Kenya
                                        
Group D                                                      

Sudan-Benin                       
Group E
Burkina Faso-Malawi
Côte d'Ivoire-Guinea