Former Black Stars skipper Stephen Appiah
Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah is still nostalgic about the day he led the Blacks Stars out for their maiden match at the Fifa World Cup in Germany in 2006.
Appiah led Ghana in front of 43,000 fans at the Niedersachsenstadion in Hannover on June 12, 2006, their first-ever game at the World Cup, as the Black Stars took on eventual champions Italy in a match they lost 2-0.
However, even with goals from Andrea Pirlo and Vincenzo Iaquinta downing the Black Stars, Appiah still holds the surreal moment of representing his team at the global showpiece for the first time dear to his heart.
“16 years ago at exactly 19:00 pm referee Simon Carlos blew his whistle to make reality a nation's dream. Ghana played its first game against Italy in the 2006 World Cup in Germany,” Appiah posted online, remembering the moment.
He added: “16 years on, I still feel that nostalgic moment in my genes and can still hear the 43,000 fans Niedersachsenstadion chant and chear their own. Time indeed flies.”
Appiah led a star-studded Ghana team that had the likes of former Bayern Munich defender Sammy Kuffour, ex-Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, former Inter Milan star Sulley Muntari, current Black Stars coach Otto Addo, John Painstsil and a 20-year-old Asamoah Gyan as they took on Italy, Czech Republic and the United States in their group.
Gyan and Muntari would score for Ghana in their second group match against the Czech Republic in a 2-0 victory before they beat the Americans 2-1 to advance to the last 16, in a match Appiah scored the second goal from the penalty spot after Haminu Draman had given them the lead.
The former Juventus, Parma, Udinese and Fenerbahce midfielder was voted Man of the Match for the tie against the United States after putting in an impressive performance.
Ghana finished second in their group behind Italy and received a nightmare Round of 16 draw, when they were paired against then world champions Brazil, which had stars such as Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Kaka, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
16 years ago at exactly 19:00 pm referee Simon Carlos blew his whistle to make reality a nation's dream. Ghana played its first game against Italy in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. pic.twitter.com/rGkH6RZAOd
— Stephen Appiah (@StephenAppiah) June 12, 2022