GHANA striker Asamoah Gyan is ready to make history against England
tonight but is disappointed Fabio Capello has rested his big players for
the Wembley clash. The 21,000 visiting fans for the friendly, a record
for an away country, had been hoping to see Wayne Rooney, John Terry,
Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.
They will all be missing, but the fans could still see an African team win at the national stadium for the first time.
Gyan said: “We were expecting the changes. I might be disappointed but
it is one of those things. Maybe the fans are disappointed because we
have never played against England.
“Maybe some of the fans are there to see the big names and they are not playing.
“They have paid a lot of money. They came to see Rooney and the big
players. “But from our viewpoint, it doesn’t matter. Those players who
are coming to face Ghana are also good players, maybe they might be
better than those players that are out. England are still a strong
side.”
Ghana skipper and Gyan’s Sunderland team-mate, John Mensah, echoed
those sentiments. He said: “It would be nice to see the big names but I
don’t think those that are playing are not good.”
While the likes of Rooney put their feet up, Ghana were travelling via
Kenya to London despite playing against Congo in an African Nations
qualifier on Sunday. Ghana’s Serbian manager Goran Stevanovic has
promised to give the fans something to cheer about, even if they are not
seeing England’s superstars.
“It is important for us that the fans enjoy the game and we will do our
best to make sure they enjoy the game,” said Stevanovic.
“We are playing against England, not one or two players. Every player who plays for England is a good player.”
The fixture meant so much to Kevin-Prince Boateng that he travelled to
London to have a foot injury assessed but was sent back to AC Milan and
will not play. For the rest of the squad, there is the possibility of
playing their part in a memorable evening.