Avram Grant’s squad to face Egypt was arguably the most eagerly anticipated one ever since the Israeli took charge of Ghana. Key questions were consistent on the lips of journalists and sports enthusiasts alike.

1.    Will Avram include fresh faces in the squad after the drab performance against Uganda?
2.    Is Kevin-Prince Boateng part of the Ghana squad?
And then few days before the call-up,
3.    Who will fill the huge boots in Asamoah Gyan’s absence?

The first two have been answered in the call-up. Alhassan Wakaso and Andy Yiadom are the new products of Avram’s monitoring while ‘darling boy’ Kevin-Prince Boateng will have to watch the Black Stars from his Canary Island base.

So the third question remains unanswered. Let’s getting talking tactics now.

Avram Grant has predominantly used the 4-4-2 for the Black Stars since January 2015 using the 4-3-3 on the odd occasion and abandoning the 3-4-2-1 after the opening defeat against Senegal at the Cup of Nations.

4-4-2

Avram Grant is expected to go with this system since it has served him well in his time. As the adage goes, “don’t fix if it isn’t broken” and the Israeli is likely to stick with that principle. In all fairness, Avram has been without Gyan for a year and it took him close to seven months to find the right formula. In the game against Mauritius at the Anjalay Stadium, Belle Vue, Mapou, Grant started with the front pair of Jordan Ayew and Andre Ayew.

What Grant had in return was hard work, energy, mobility and more importantly relentless pressing from the top which allowed the Ghana team to move higher up and apply more pressure. The Ayew brothers are the most likely bet to start upfront with the now familiar midfield of Christian Atsu, Mubarak Wakaso Afriyie Acquah and Frank Acheampong behind them. The downside to this team will be the fact that the team will not have a natural striker to sit on the shoulder of the last defender as both front men are always moving to the ball instead of making runs in behind. Despite this, their work ethic and endeavor will be crucial in a game of this importance.

4-3-3

Alternatively, the Israeli could line up with a 4-3-3 system as he did in Maputo against Mozambique and in their recent loss to Russia. The aim of this system is to have more bodies in midfield to have a firm grip of the game. In Maputo, Alfred Duncan, Agyeman Badu and Afriyie Acquah were deployed in a three man midfield with Ebenezer Assifuah and Jeffrey Schlupp providing the width. In Russia, Mubarak Wakaso, Afriyie Acquah and Thomas Partey were the trio in midfield with Frank Acheampong and Christian Atsu flanking Jordan Ayew.

This system has not provided the ideal results for Grant but it has offered Ghana a greater deal of control in midfield. If he is to go with this system, Andre Ayew and Christian Atsu could flank Jordan Ayew with Agyeman Badu/ Thomas Partey/ Alhassan Wakaso to battle for a third midfield role alongside Mubarak Wakaso and Afriyie Acquah.

All in all, the onus lies on Grant to devise a fine system to set Ghana’s World Cup qualification back on track.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Razak Braimah (Cordoba, Spain), Adam Kwarasey (Rosenborg, Norway) Richard Ofori (Wa All Stars)

Defenders: Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew, USA), Andy Yiadom (Barnsley, England), Baba Rahman (Schalke, Germany), Jeffery Schlupp (Leicester City, England), John Boye (Sivasspor, Turkey), Jonathan Mensah (Anzhi, Russia), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City, England), Edwin Gyimah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa) 

Midfielders: Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese, Italy), Afriyie Acquah (Torino, Italy), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain)  Mubarak Wakaso (Panathinaikos, Greece), Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht, Belgium), Christian Atsu (Newcastle, England), Alhassan Wakaso (Rio Ave, Portugal), Samuel Tetteh (Leifering, Austria)

Forwards: Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa, England), Abdul-Majeed Waris (Lorient, France), Andre Ayew (West Ham, England), Ebenezer Assifuah (Sion, Switzerland)

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