Black Stars midfielder Thomas Partey is confident Ghana would leave a lasting impression at the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup despite Ghana’s status as the lowest-ranked side in the tournament. At the start of the World Cup, the Black Stars were ranked 61 in the world.
After a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Cameroon in January where the team was eliminated in the group stages, the Ghana national football team arrived in Qatar as the least favoured team to progress beyond the first round.
However, the Black Stars have managed to pick up 3 points in two games, losing narrowly to Portugal in their opening Group H game before dispatching South Korea 3-2 in a second game.
Now, the Black Stars must beat Uruguay to automatically reach the round of 16 and Partey who is the vice-captain of the team says he and his teammates are determined to prove the doubters and critics wrong.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, Partey said, “we want to show that we are capable of anything. We were the lowest-ranked team but we need to prove a point. We will prepare well and stick to our plan.”
Partey also downplayed the factor of revenge heading into the Uruguay game on Friday, adding it is just another match the team has to win despite the high stakes involved.
“I was very young, I was playing colts in Ashaiman,” Partey said when asked where he was when Ghana played against Uruguay in 2010.” He added, “it was a game of football, everything can happen. We had the chance to score the penalty but we were unlucky, the ball did not go in but I think that we are going into this game well prepared. We know what we have to do to win. We have to work hard and stick to the plan of our coach.”
The Ghana versus Uruguay game will kick off at 3 pm Ghana time and 6 pm Qatar time. There will be live updates of the game on www.ghanaweb.com.
