Africa needs deliberate plan to win World Cup - Asamoah Gyan

Former Ghana international, Asamoah Gyan, says Africa needs to plan and inject an effort to win the World Cup.

The former Liberty Professionals striker remains the country's all-time leading goal scorer with six goals having featured in 2006, 2010, and 2014 in Germany South Africa, and Brazil respectively.

In the history of the global showpiece, the farthest an African country has reached the Mundial is the quarter-final round; Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010.

Gyan suggests the quarter-final has been Africa’s long-standing boundary simply because there’s no calculated attempt from the continent.

“We have to make sure we plan ahead, I think that is our problem. Some countries plan years – let’s say ‘in 10 years we have to win the World Cup’. So it’s a plan people take, and that’s why I’m saying it’s a process.

“I’m sure an African country will win it one day, but I don’t know when,” Gyan said in an interview.

“As an African, that is my prayer, I want an African country to also win it, that is what every African is hoping for [but] it depends how the teams approach the tournament. I remember in 2006, the Czech Republic was number 3 in the World, the United States, was number 5, and then there was Germany and Italy. So we [Ghana] were underdogs, everyone thought we were going home.

“But we were able to get through to the next stage of the competition. When you are going to a tournament, how you approach it matters, not the kind of players you have. Statistically, there are favorites, but you have to go and see what happens.”

Meanwhile, Gyan, 36, has shared his desire of making a return with the Black Stars ahead of this year’s edition in Qatar, a wish many Ghanaian faithful are against since he has been out of professional football for close to a year.