Ghana revives world cup hopes

ACCRA, June 21 (Xinhua/Sun) -- Ghana' s Black Stars revived its hopes of qualifying to the next stage of the FIFA World Cup following a 2-2 game with Germany in Fortaleza, Brazil on Saturday.

The two teams went into the Group G match with mixed results after their opening games as Ghana lost 2-1 to the United States while Germany thrashed Portugal 4-0.

The Black Stars needed at least a point to keep alive their hopes of making it to the second round.

The African side played the best of their games in recent times in the fast-paced, action-packed encounter.

From the first whistle, the Black Stars looked promising and pushed for an early goal but could grasp any of the chances that came their way at the goal.

It was Mario Gotze of Germany who opened scoring six minutes into the second half from a low header that bounced off his leg.

Dede Ayew levelled the score with a sublime header before Gyan scored his fifth World Cup goal in what appeared to be the match winner, pushing the entire township of the capital, Accra, into a state of frenzy.

However Miroslav Klose got the equalizer after notching in from close range from a corner which the Germans execute to perfection.

Saturday' s game was the second meeting between the two sides at the World Cup after Germany beat the Black Stars 1-0 in the group stage in South Africa four years ago.

The 2014 World Cup is being watched at fun parks scattered across the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

The scene at the Oxford Street in Accra which is one of the venues where giant screens had been set up for soccer fans to enjoy the game was colorful and lively.

The soccer fans who thronged one of the fun parks in Accra to watch the game, were clad in the national colors of Ghana and Germany, singing, dancing and tooting horns.

Some of them expressed satisfaction with the performance of both teams and believed Ghana and Germany could possibly make it to the next round of the competition.

"General speaking today the Ghana Black Stars performed creditably well. Initially, I never gave them a chance that they could even pull a draw out of this game. But on the field of play it seems they performed creditably well," Ernest Yaw Awuku told Xinhua.

"The coordination between the midfield and attack was just superb but it is left with a little bit of coordination at the back and Kwesi Appiah should work on set-pieces. If he could work on set-pieces I believe we can go far," he said.

"I think it was a very tough match. Germany was playing well and Ghana was playing well. So I think for us it was a very good result. Ghana deserves to qualify to the next. Everybody is happy and good luck for Ghana for the last round," said Jakob Kerstan, a German fan.

"This time Ghana did very well. If you compare their performance to Monday, this time is much better. So I think they are on the good way. We all hope that Ghana and Germany can qualify," Paul Munnich, another German fan told Xinhua after the game.

"It is a very good score for us. I think the next game we have to take it a little bit serious and put in much effort. We pray that God will favor us next time and we will qualify to the next round," Lord Lincoln, a Ghanaian fan said.

Even though Ghana failed to win its second group match against Germany, it has given the world enough reason to respect it. Ghana will now turn its focus towards their final group game against Portugal on Thursday at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia.