By IVES GALARCEP
Former U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley is set to face a familiar foe when he leads Egypt against its final hurdle on the way to the 2014 World Cup, and it makes the support for Bradley and Egypt among American soccer fans even stronger.
In case you missed Monday’s African World Cup qualifying playoff draw, Bradley’s Egypt was drawn against Ghana, with the winner of their two-game playoff securing a place in the World Cup.
In my recent On American Soccer column for Goal.com, I take a closer look at Bradley’s challenge, and why Egypt’s chances of beating Ghana might be better than American soccer fans realize.
Give the column a read and let us know what you think of Bradley’s challenge. Do you see Egypt defeating the Black Stars? Think it is too tough a challenge?
Share your thoughts below.
Egypt doesn’t have a chance against us and should all our players stay fit,Ghana ll totally annihilate bobs Bradley and his Egyptian team!! Yes Egypt is a strong footballing nation but though they have better head to head against ghana,they always struggled so hard against us even when we use our junior teams against them!! Matches between us has been extremely close but Ghana has the upperhand this time because we have a bunch of serious,talented squad that even wins when they underperformed and Bob is in for a big ride in this WC!!! Ghanaian players takes WC more serious and we ll make sure that Egypt is eliminated in Ghana before we go for the return leg in Cairo!!! Egypt is one African team that never ever scare Ghana!!! At the end of the day Ghana ll qualify!!
We are coming to Brazil to win the elusive WC for the first time for Africa and Africans and we ll do it right infront of Brazilians afterall Ghana is called the only Brazil in Africa!!! We have formed a new slogan in Ghana which goes like this ‘ going to Brazil without Ghana is no going’ and we all surely qualified to Brazil and showcase our brand of football which is called the ‘ AGORO SOCCER’ which is very similar to Brazil samba play!!! This world cup in Brazil will never ever be complete without the shinning swagger of African football called the black stars of Africa and we definitely make black Africans proud by going far in Brazil because is already written that if there is any African team that can win the WC then it definitely has to be the only black star of Africa!!! Egypt ll fall no matter how hard they try because history is on our side on WC qualifiers as compared to the Egyptians who last qualifed 23 yrs ago!!! We fear no foe and Egypt all bring the best in Ghana!!! For now keep on listening to coolio song ‘ I see u when u get there!!!!
Egypt will defeat Ghana and get to Brazil. The fans will be let back into the stadium for the return leg and Bradley will let his guys run loose. It’s just too good of a story to not happen…
We should make a movie about this. A comedy about bumbling CIA agents trying sabbotage the Ghanian team and pop them full of laxitives. Then we will find out that Egypt’s youngest player has cancer, and the only way to save him is to win the match and give him the will to live again, although he will “hang on” to life if there tie…but he won’t get better. And then the fat one that used to be really good before he got fat will train hard and score the game-winning goal and suddenly look fit again. Throw in a dog, or a lion-man (sphinx) and you have a ’90s Disney sport-comedy.
Or we could make a teen-comedy about the Mexican national team and their attempts to sneak prostitutes into the players hotel rooms right before their games.
But I digress, in all seriousness Egypt and BB got the worst draw possible. So, unlucky. Time for a “Look, nobody expects you to win. So relax, enjoy the match. Remember your responsibilities in the team and go show them what you can do” speech. And if that hasn’t worked by the 2nd half of the return-leg, that’s when you pull out all the stops and tell them to do it for cancer-boy. Pulls out photo of boy in hospital with Egypt jersey photoshopped onto him.
They are making a documentary about Egypt’s WC qualifying campaign called “We Must Go”, and this looks like an amazing addition to the film. Comes out next year, win or lose.
Go Egypt and go Bob! Anyone know of a place in Los Angeles to see the Egypt v Ghana games?
The ghosts of ’06 and ’10 will be exercised.
And then when they’re good and tired, they’ll get exorcised.
nicely done, sir. oy!
No problem. Let’s go Bob!
hell yeah! straight into the pit! 😀
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVoKlqbz1l4
Hopefully Bradley brakes the curse. Seems like this happens to other national teams, USA is owned by Ghana, Mexico is owned by Argentina ect
Argentina ? Who isn’t owned by Argentina exactly ?
Germany…unfortunately
thats the thing, where ever Bradley goes, Ghana fate is automatically successful over that country. thats why the Black Stars are not only gonna qualify for 2014 WC, but win it as well!
Get ’em Bob
Go Jersey Bob go.
Bob should move the game to Columbus
Egypt has the worst draw. The system that rated them so low when they went 6-0 in qualifying is unjust. It is really to bad that one of these teams will not be present at the next World Cup. Ghana has to be the inform team in Africa now (Ayew, Atsu, Boetang), maybe along with Nigeria, but Egypt would be a great story. I hope soccer comes back to Egypt soon!
Also, Ives, nice US list, but why no Torres, and am I the only one who rates Kljestan? He is a great back-up for Bradley. Also, do you know the story about Luis Gil? I heard Mexico might try to cup-tie him.
I’m with you on that one. I would like to see Bradley pair with Kljestan in the middle, they did seem to have good chemistry against Bosnia. It would be nice to see
That system also gave Egypt an easy group.
Well at least he can’t play Bornstein.
Who’s the Egyptian Bornstein?
Ahmed Al-Bornsteinly
Nonsense. It’s not “unjust.” It’s their low FIFA ranking. And the failures of the previous regimes, missing last 2 African Cup of Nations (leading to the low ranking) that got Bob the job in the first place.