Germany vs Ghana 2010

Wednesday, 26th May 2010 at 12:10pm

When the World Cup draw produced the Germany v Ghana fixture, it threw up the potential for a match up that could divide family loyalties and pit two brothers against one another; one in the colours of Germany, the other playing for Ghana.

Both Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng were born in Germany and represented Germany at youth level, but their father was Ghanaian and their Uncle represented his country at senior level.

Jerome, a highly rated centre half thought to be on the verge of a move to Manchester City, chose to play for the country of his birth but older brother Kevin-Prince opted to take advantage of Fifa's change in the age limit for players able to switch nationality, and was selected as part of the 30-man Black Stars preliminary squad.

Germany will start the match as heavy favourites despite the loss of influential midfielder and captain Michael Ballack, who, ironically, was injured following a tackle by Kevin-Prince Boateng in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 15.

Three-time world champions Germany came through their qualifying group undefeated, recording eight wins and two draws from its 10 matches and Joachim Low's squad boasts an array of talented and experienced stars.

At the back, Low can call upon the experience of Per Mertesacker, Phillip Lahm and Arne Friedrich to keep things tight, and has the skills of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Werder Bremen's Mesut Ozil to feed the likes of Lukas Podolski, Mario Gomez and the hugely experienced Miroslav Klose up front.

Ghana's fans will be hoping that their one truly world class player Michael Essien will have recovered sufficiently to make the Black Star's line up.

The midfield powerhouse has been absent since the African Cup of Nations in Angola and will be desperate to get back on the field to help his country progress beyond the group stages.

Should Essien fail to make it, it will be a blow for coach Milan Rajovac, but he will know that Ghana's strengths lie in its midfield with the likes of Sulley Muntari of Inter Milan, Boateng and former Arsenal player Quincy Owusu-Abeiye.

Even with Essien in the team, Germany should have too much for Ghana, but if Essien does make it to South Africa, the Black Stars will be a good bet for the round of 16.

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