Can Black Stars Czech mate spark African revival?

BERLIN, June 18, 2006 (AFP/GNA) - Ghana's Black Stars stunning 2-0 dismantling on Saturday of the highly-regarded Czech Republic side lifted the gloom that had swiftly descended onto the African challenge at the World Cup.

Perhaps inspired by Friday night's events with Angola's gutsy 0-0 draw with one of the underachieving giants of World Cup history Mexico, Ghana now stand one win away from a place in the last 16 at their first World Cup finals while the Angolans too have an outside chance of going through.

That has greatly lifted the spirits after African Nations Cup finalists Ivory Coast crashed out of the tournament on Saturday while Togo lost their first match and Tunisia probably saw their chances ended with a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia.

Both do have two matches in which to rectify things, however. Such is the fickle nature of football and especially African football that Ghana's Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic stands to become a national hero just months after he was almost sacked for their embarrassing first round exit at the African Nations Cup.

However the 60-year-old coach is under no illusions how important the final group match against the United States is.

The next match will be the most important of my career," said Dujkovic, whose previous highlight at international level was guiding Rwanda to an African Nations Cup finals for the first time in their history in 2004.

However Dujkovic acknowledges that he will have a hard enough task keeping his talented team's feet firmly on the ground in a match that the Americans need to win to have any hope of progressing after their courageous 1-1 draw with Italy.

"We have to calm down. The Africans are emotional people," said Dujkovic, who has also coached among others Burma.

While he will be without striker Asamoah Gyan, who picked up his second booking of the tournament for taking a penalty without the referee's consent, he will have the dynamic influences of captain Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien to worry the Americans. Another of their teammates Paul Boateng summed up what it would mean to make the last 16 not just for his country but for the continent as a whole.

"That's our aim, it would be fantastic for us and we're looking forward to that, because it's very important for us and the whole country, the whole of Africa," said Boateng, who came on in the second half.

For Angola there remains their final match against a dispirited Iran - losers of both of their matches - and should Portugal beat Mexico the African side could progress provided they improve their goal difference.

Whatever their point against Mexico has already sated the lust of their coach Luis de Oliveira Goncalves in terms of history. "That was the best result in Angolan football history".

"We have to have a little bit of ambition because after we won this point here tonight we have to believe we can win three points. "Our president said we are special and I agree with him, and we're going to try to be special in the game against Iran." Ivory Coast's Henri Michel has seen his stock slump in reverse to that of Dujkovic's having qualified the Elephants for their first ever World Cup finals and then taken them to a penalty shootout loss to Egypt in the African Nations Cup final.

Now the 57-year-old Frenchman is being slated for their failure to get through a group that included two-time champions Argentina and two-time finalists The Netherlands, though, both only edged their matches against his side 2-1.

However the former French international striker has been around the African football block often enough to know what really matters. "Everyone tells me this team plays great football," said Michel, who guided France to the 1986 World Cup semi-finals.

"What's more important is the result. And the result was not good. We're out and that's the bottom line.

"It means that Ivory Coast are still not at the level of the big teams at the World Cup."

Thankfully for Africa Ghana may just be at that level.