Ghana to play Holland in friendly

Ghana will play the Netherlands in a pre-World Cup friendly just weeks to the start of the tournament in Brazil, GHANAsoccernet.com can exclusively reveal. The Black Stars will face the Orange on Saturday, May 31 in Rotterdam, the Dutch FA have confirmed.

The Orange will then play Wales in their final warm-up match before the World Cup four days after facing the Black Stars.

The Dutch FA, just like four years ago, have decided to play Ghana before the commencement of the World Cup finals.

Luis Van Gaal’s side opted to play the strong Black Stars team despite not facing an African opponent at the group stage of the World Cup which kicks off on June 12 in Brazil.

Ghana however stand to profit more by playing this friendly match as they will be offered a strong test by an elite European side before going to the tournament.

The friendly which is being played at the same venue as four years ago will give the Black Stars a unique opportunity to avenge a 4-1 defeat suffered against the Orange in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ghana will also pick up vital experience playing against an elite European national team as they will be facing giants Germany and Portugal in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup.

With an array of world class players such as Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben, Nigel De Jong and Rafael Van Der Vaart, the Black Stars are sure to have a stern test in all departments before embarking on their World Cup campaign.

Ghana will also pose a threat to the Orange team with world beaters such as Michael Essien, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari and Kwadwo Asamoah.

The news which is being revealed by Ghana’s leading football website also hints at a possible European training camp for the Black Stars.

The Ghana FA are yet t0 reveal plans for the Black Stars ahead of their third successive World Cup appearance.

There are hints of a possible training camp in the USA but with news of this friendly, the Black Stars are more likely to camp in Europe to save the players from rigorous travels if indeed rumours of training camp in the US are true.