Round of 32 Isn't Enough: Africa Must Rise

I woke up just in time to watch the Black Stars take on Colombia. As the Colombian anthem played, followed by ours, I noticed — again — that shockingly, most of our players either deliberately refuse to sing the national anthem or simply don't know the words. It has been the same story throughout this tournament, right up to this last game.

I was hopeful in the opening minutes, especially after Thomas Partey's strike that nearly found the net. I told myself: we are winning this match.

Then Colombia slowed things down, stringing together clean, patient passes. They grew increasingly aggressive, at one point defender Jerome Opoku's jersey was ripped. Marvin Sena was injured shortly after and had to be substituted.

Moments later, the game turned messy, and we conceded a painful goal around the 14th minute. I stayed hopeful for a while longer, but it was clear our boys' standard of play had dropped drastically. I lost interest and went back to bed, struggling to sleep but eventually drifting off — still hoping things would look different by morning. They didn't.

Driving around later in the morning, I noticed life had simply moved on. People were going about their business as usual. I spotted only one man in a Black Stars jersey, at a filling station along the motorway.

Social media told a similar story of disappointment. Much of the conversation centred on the recall of Ati-Zigi in goal. He made a few brilliant saves, but many were unhappy — not with him, but with how disorganised the Black Stars' defence looked for long stretches of the match. As several commentators pointed out, a goalkeeper's job goes well beyond shot-stopping; he must also organise the back line. I agree with that assessment completely.

It's no surprise, then, that former captain Asamoah Gyan didn't hold back. He described the performance against Colombia as below average, with no sense of urgency, and noted that Ghana simply didn't have men in the box. Colombia, by contrast, kept pushing for more goals even while ahead. In the end, Colombia deserved the win.

To conclude, our players seemed to take to the field as though nothing was at stake. Perhaps, too, they underestimated Colombia — a mistake this Black Stars team can ill afford to keep making.

But beyond the Black Stars, we shouldn't settle for simply qualifying out of the round of 32. Africa must rise. Africa can win the World Cup. My prayer now is that Morocco goes all the way and proves to the world what Africa is capable of.

Felix Ekow Eshun

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