Ghana will look to overcome host nation Equatorial Guinea in the second semifinal of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, set for Nuevo Estadio de Malabo on Thursday evening at 21:00 CAT.
The Black Stars have recovered from a poor start to the tournament (a 2-1 loss to Senegal in their opening Group C match) to string together three successive wins over Algeria, South Africa and Guinea – each more convincing than the last – which has powered them into the semifinals.
Avram Grant’s side certainly have momentum on their side and a growing confidence that they can end a 33-year wait for their fifth Afcon title. "Every game we are better than the game before,” said the Israeli coach after their 3-0 win over Guinea in the quarterfinals.
But standing in Ghana’s way is host side Equatorial Guinea, who pulled off a giant-killing act in the quarterfinals when two goals from Javier Balboa took them to a 2-1 win over Tunisia – arguably the greatest upset in Nations Cup history, even if it was ‘assisted’ by some dubious refereeing.
Nzalang Nacional (National Thunder) have never appeared in the last four of the Afcon before and a wave of euphoria is sweeping football fans in the country. The home side is sure to have a capacity crowd right behind them on Thursday evening.
"Thanks to the players, the people of [Equatorial] Guinea, the people at the federation, their president and of course the president of the Republic," said coach Esteban Becker upon reaching the semifinals.
Ghana do have one major worry ahead of the semifinal, with leading striker Asamoah Gyan an injury doubt after suffering a heavy challenge from Guinea’s Moussa Naby Yattara in the quarterfinal.
This will be the first official international match between Equatorial Guinea and Ghana.
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