Ghana Pulls Off World Cup Stunner Against Czech Republic
Posted June 17, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The effort marked the first win of this tournament for an African team and Ghana’s first victory on the world stage. The victory has also ensured the Americans won’t be eliminated from contention if they lose to the Italians later Saturday.
Ghana’s first goal came early with Asamoah Gyan putting one in the net just two minutes into the match.
While the 45,000-seat Cologne Stadium was filled with a large number of Czech fans, the Ghana supporters made their voices heard and danced in their seats after Gyan’s goal.
The second came 80 minutes later, but not before the spirited Ghanian team peppered the Czech goalkeeper with shots.
Sulley Muntari was responsible for the second goal – a shot into the upper right corner of the net.
Gyan had a close shot in the 67th with a penalty kick, but his shot hit the right goalpost.
The Czech defence was lacking as the team was missing its main strikers, Jan Koller and Aston Villa’s Milan Baros, due to injuries.
Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic said his team’s 2-0 loss to the Italians prompted him to shake up his defence strategy and it worked.
