It is difficult to forget how profusely Ghana’s Andre Ayew sobbed after losing the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final to Ivory Coast in 2015.
He was broken. The thought of that night in Equatorial-Guinea must be a driving force for him, one may think. Yet, apart from his goal from the spot that led Ghana to a 1-0 win over Uganda in their opener, he is yet to set the stage alight.
That said, in his teammates that are the two midfield patrollers Mubarak Wakaso and Thomas Partey, Ghana have been a delight to watch. They are the reason Ghana have played as well as they have so far.
While Ghana is not so explosive in approach like Senegal, it is not easy to underestimate them. And with the 0-1 defeat to Egypt on Wednesday night, coupled with the slim 1-0 wins they have been registering, not many see Ghana as potential champions.
But one must critically observe Wakaso and Partey to appreciate how formidable this side is. Of course that is not how well they were playing a year or so ago. Yet the improvement is glaring.
To be considered a good central midfielder, one must have the ability to control the tempo of the game, win possession and then manage it well by making the right pass. Now, Partey and Wakaso have been doing all that to great effect and more.
In hindsight, tournaments are not heavily-relied-on to judge players and their quality. But Partey and Wakaso have shown elegance in play and, above all, majesty. The kind that should see them more prominently at the top level.
Partey played for Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Champions League final against Real Madrid last May. But that is probably as much one would remember of him, if they even ever noticed. Wakaso also plays in Spain for Las Palmas. Yet that left foot and his natural force clearly can get him into a more recognized spot like Kenya’s Victor Wanyama has risen to.
However, as much as big tournaments are considered to create a false dawn about players, they cannot be discounted either. You see, they also bring out the mental strength of players to withstand the pressure when the stakes are at their highest. That strength and character to dominate opposing midfields is what Partey and Wakaso have done.
And because of them, Ghana stands a chance to return to a second successive final. Even with the lack of high-scoring forwards, the vision of Partey and Wakaso can conjure up something through their visionary passing and ensure they hold onto it.
Because these are true midfield work horses, their contribution has been relentless. They have provided cover to a formidable defence led by John Boye and Daniel Partey, another praiseworthy duo.
But while at that, it is difficult to have missed how terrible Ivory Coast’s Wilfred Zaha was throughout the group stages. He has arguably been the most high-profile flop at the Afcon. It was disappointing, to see such a ‘new signing’ fail to have any significant impact at his first appearance.
The biggest problem that Zaha has is that he needs to play with more intelligence. Clearly, the talent is there, but the challenge is that Zaha fails in his judgment; what to do and where. Yes, Zaha has speed, but it is not about running into blind alleys and brick walls like he did.
A big part of football is played by intuition. But oftentimes, Zaha would attempt a dribble, where a simple pass would suffice or a quick cross would do. However, for whatever reason, that Ivory Coast badly needed Zaha who, in all likelihood, was to fill the void left by the injured Gervinho.
Worse still, Zaha would always be caught by his marker, and in possession, which hurt his team. He was normally late. Zaha was expected to showcase something made in England like guile and enterprise, yet turned out to be a major disaster.
jovi@observer.ug