International friendly: Eagles of Mali Outshine ‘Dark’ Ghana Black Stars in a 3-0 thriller

CK Akonnor’s first game as coach of the Ghana Black Stars was played against Mali but the international friendly ended in a 3-0 scoreline against Ghana. It looks as though CK Akonnor repeated his scoreline when he took over Asante Kotoko, a game he lost by the same margin. 

The Black Stars were a shadow of themselves in the 3-0 by Mali win over the in the international friendly honoured on Friday.

Ghana used to be one of Africa’s giant football nations but, the same cannot be said for the national senior national team which is going through a restructuring process. 

Ghana’s latest friendly game against Mali was one of pain for many Ghanaians. The passionate footballing nation is talking and both lovers of the game and football analyst who were expecting a better outing for the Black starts in their new jersey and with their new coach, Coach C.K Akonnor was never to be.

The team looked impoverished and deserved a worse scoreline in the game with was played in at the Emirhan Sports Center in Antalya, Turkey.

READ: Ghana’s International Player Transfer Window Opened Until October

The free-scoring Malian team opened the scoring just after three minutes of the start of the game via captain Hamari Traore.

Ghana never looked like it was in to secure at least a draw and in the second half, El Bilal Toure and Amadou Haidari scored one apiece to increase the tally to 3 goals. 

The Malian national team was well composed and led by an experienced coach Mohamed Magassouba who understands the African game. 

Ghana may be building a new team but several players called for the game, do not have to playtime in their various clubs and local players could have done better if given the chance.

The question on the table is whether Coach C.K Akonnor has what it takes to lead the team. Already, football fans have thrown in the towel whiles others are thinking a foreign coach with Coach C.K Akonnor an assistant would have helped the team and the current manager to learn on the job of coaching a national team.

Yet Ghana has taken the biggest gamble and although the friendly ended on a bad note for the black starts the team itself did not play well on the day. 

Would Ghana be able to make any positive impact, improve team quality, and build a team that can win the Africa Cup of Nations? The dark clouds are indeed overshadowing the already black stars. How can they shine?