Ghana ready for next step

Ghana need one more win to make it into the next round

From Sport Online's Durosimi Thomas in Argentina

After the first round of group matches, the football crazy fans of Argentina now know what to expect from the African challenge at the Under-20 World Cup.

Ghana's 2-1 victory over Paraguay was described by many commentators as the best game in the tournament so far and the Egyptian performance against Finland, which ended goal-less, was highly rated.

Many think that host team should watch out for an upset in Wednesday's meeting between Argentina and the North Africans.

In Mendoza, where Angola are in the same group with Australia, the Czech Republic and Japan, the player people are talking about is Manuel 'Mantorras' Pedro.

The Benfica striker was denied by the crossbar in the 30th minute when the Palanqhuinas played the Czechs on Monday.

Derek Boateng has won people's hearts

And Ethiopia received massive support from the fans in Salta, though they lost 2-1 to Ecuador after taking the lead from the penalty spot.

Divided loyalty

Argentinean support could suffer because of another game that the home fans will be watching closely - and that should give heart to the Egyptians.

Boca Juniors and Cruz Azul play the second leg of the final in the Libertadores Cup in Mexico City.

Nevertheless, they will still have a passionate following.

Egypt, who have had the best preparation among the four African sides had all the chances to beat Jamaica in the first round, but wasted their opportunities.

It will not be the same against Argentina, who despite not having the same calibre of talented players that took them to victory in 1995 and 1997, still have fleet-footed strikers like the Barcelona bound Saviola to rely on.

But the Egyptians should not underrate their ability to cause an upset - Coach Shawky Gharib's has maintained a side with balanced strength from defence to attack and should not totally depend on a defensive strategy.

Rave reviews

In group F, France may have trounced Iran 5-0, but it is the Ghanaian display of skill that has caught the eye of Argentineans in Mar del Plata.

In a special pull-out by the city's biggest daily, La Capital, Derrick Boateng is displayed on the front page celebrating his goal for Ghana.

Incidentally, their opening game against Paraguay recorded the highest number of fans in the competition.

Ghana have started better than the other African teams, but they must guard against the rave reviews acting as a distraction.

Iran as the weakest team should guarantee the Black Satellites a place in the second round, but they should not be discounted.

Ethiopia impressed at the African U20 champs

Only when the Iranians lost concentration in the second-half against France was when their defence opened and all five goals were scored.

Angola also have a chance of revival against Japan on Thursday - and there they have to clinch three points.

It will be much more difficult to contain the Australians, who showed speed and aggressive counter-attacking when they beat Japan 2-0 on Monday.

Motivation

Ethiopia face the most difficult task of all when they play Costa Rica, who defeated Holland 3-1.

Although the Ethiopian display against Ecuador was up to standard, coach Diego Garzitto's main problem will be to motivate his charges that they have the raw skill to play and shine at this level.

On the whole, one win, two draws and a defeat has been a satisfactory start for the African teams, better than what was expected, even before the unexpectedly cold weather conditions were taken into account.

My prediction is that two African teams will make it to the second round and one of those will get to the quarter-finals.

Beyond that we have to wait and see.