A Ghana-versus-Egypt encounter in a World Cup qualifying play-off was one permutation that very few strong-hearted book-makers would have placed a bet on to appear on the balloting cards. With their strong pedigree and historical credentials in African soccer, the silent prayer across the continent was that these two highly-decorated footballing nations would not be pitched against each other at this stage of the qualifying series. The reality, however, is that the two soccer heavyweights on the African continent will have to face off to gain the right of passage to Brazil 2014. The anxiety ”“ and, to some extent, morbid fear ”“ that gripped some Ghanaian soccer fans when the fixture was announced is understandable. Indeed, a section of Ghanaians still believes the Black Stars stand no chance against the Pharaohs, the seven-time African champions at the Nations Cup. Even the most-optimists have been measuring their faith with caution. However, I share the faith and conviction that Ghana”™s destiny with Brazil 2014 will not end with the two-legged play-off with Egypt. And I will share with you this absolute faith in the Black Stars to win this encounter by doing a slight dissection into the Egyptian team to let people know what the seven-time African Cup of Nations Champions have been up to these past few years, against the background that the Pharaohs consecutively failed to qualify for the 2010 world cup and the 2012 and 2013 CAN respectively. Egyptian football competitions have been in trouble since February 2012 when the league was cancelled after deadly clashes between fans in the Port Said stadium. The latest Premier League season was cancelled following security problems after the army ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, following mass protest demanding early elections. In this soccer-mad nation, the national pastime has long been more than just a sport. Toward the end of President Hosni Mubarak”™s 30-year reign, hard-core soccer fans known as “ultras” often skirmished with police. The ultras of Al Ahly turned into the toughest defenders of Tahrir Square during the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak, and soccer die-hards have played a role in demonstrations since then. In the heat of the political turmoil, ex-US national team coach Bob Bradley, who lost to Ghana in the round of sixteen stage in the 2010 WC in South Africa, was appointed as head coach of the Egyptian team shortly after legendary Hassan Shehata”™s departure. For a moment, Egyptians believed again that their national team was going to take its place at where it should be. But this belief was short-lived. Just months after Bradley started his job, he got a taste of how political tensions could flare in Egyptian soccer. In February 2012, Al Ahly fans were attacked by ultras of their rival, Al-Masry, in the Suez Canal city of Port Said. Police looked on impassively as at least 74 people were killed with knives and clubs. Al Ahly fans claimed that police allowed the bloodbath in revenge for the ultras”™ role in bringing down Mubarak, a charge denied by the government. Bradley watched the scenes of carnage with horror from Cairo. In his long soccer career ”” which includes positions as an assistant coach with D.C. United in 1996-97 and head coach of the Chicago Fire, the New York/New Jersey Metro Stars and Los Angeles-based Chivas USA ”” he had seen fights. But nothing like this. He met several of his players at a memorial service for the victims a few days later. Bradley had players on both teams. He counseled his men to get over their anger, honoring the dead but maintaining their responsibility to their team and country. One of his stars, Al Ahly midfielder Mohammed Aboutrika, initially threatened to quit the sport, but he backed down. Still, another problem loomed. Because of the tragedy, Egyptian authorities suspended play in the domestic soccer league, which employed many of the national team members. So in order to keep the team in shape, fit and motivated Bradley and his assistants scrambled to set up friendlies in Sudan Lebanon and other countries. Egypt”™s national soccer team often plays to empty stadiums in almost all their home games, under orders from security forces. Some of the players don”™t get paid. And recently, many team members got stranded at Cairo”™s airport by the 7 p.m. curfew. Significantly, the stakes for the Pharaohs go well beyond a few soccer games. The squad has vaulted into the final stage of qualifying for the World Cup, a tournament that Egypt hasn”™t reached for nearly a quarter-century. Winning one of the 32 berths in the 2014 tournament could rally a nation rent by politics and religion, where more than 1,000 people have been killed since the military deposed an unpopular elected government on July 3. Egypt”™s political turmoil has only escalated since. In mid-August, the Pharaohs were in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna, preparing for a match, when phone calls started arriving from Cairo. Security forces firing guns and tear gas had broken up two massive sit-ins organized by the Muslim Brotherhood to protest the ouster of the country”™s first Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi. Hundreds of civilians were killed. With a blend of youth and experience at his disposal, Bob Bradley has been able to make the Pharaohs a formidable side worthy of a place in the next global soccer showpiece in Brazil. The likes of Wael Gomaa, Mohammed Aboutrika, Mahmoud Fathalla, Gedo and Esam El Hadary have over the years proven their worth to the cause of the national team and once again their services are needed more than ever to sail the team through its last hurdle. In spite of this blend of youth and experience, the Pharaohs have most of their playing setup aging and out-lived their prime therefore do not have sharp reflexes like they used to. Having said all these, I believe the Ghana team stands a stronger chance of edging out their North African foes in many ways. Psychologically, the Black stars are more prepared for this double-header as they do not have to deal with any headache of having to postpone or abandon any training session or assembling of players due to any unwanted circumstance. The Ghana team can mentally overcome the Egyptians outside the field even before the first leg is played. The Black Stars boast of a young but experienced side with an average age of 24 years, majority of them having been to the world cup in recent editions. Most of them know how to get the job done at this stage of the qualifiers and I believe, without any shade doubt, that, if they are able to eschew complacency and stay focused, Ghana will be able to win both legs to qualify for the Mundial. Many who doubt the Black stars going through maintain that the Egyptians have a chunk of their players plying their trade in their homeland, hence it is easier to assemble them and it allows fluidity in their play since they know each other”™s strengths and weakness as they play in the same league. Without dismissing this argument off-hand, it does not address the question of whether the competitiveness in the Egyptian league gets any closer to the European leagues that most of the Ghanaian players play. Most of the Ghanaian players are playing with and against the best players in the world, which brings out the best in them and makes them adopt better techniques and skills to their game. Many soccer pundits have proposed a richer in experience and in-depth knowledge of the technical handlers of the Ghana team to help solve the deficiencies the team faces sometimes during matches. I strongly support that motion because we have seen what that system did for current World and European champions, Spain, where a great coach in Luiz Araggones is part of the technical bench. We also witnessed Brazil reaffirming their status in world football as one the greatest (if not the greatest) soccer nations in the world by parading a young but immensely-talented team to win the Confederation”™s Cup a few months ago with two world cup-winning coaches (Luiz Felipe Scolari and Carlos Alberto Perreira) on the bench. This call for a similar approach for the Black Stars is laudable but I also believe it should rather come after the Black Stars qualification to the World Cup when the team has enough time to prepare and know which coach or coaches have the requisite know-how to be called to join the bench. The Ghana team will also have scores to settle with the Pharaohs as the latter denied them a fifth Cup of Nations”™ title in Angola three years ago. Head-to-head advantage seem not to favor Ghana though, as the Egyptians have won 10 out of 21 clashes as against Ghana”™s six wins, with the two sides sharing honours in the other five meetings. Clearly, the stakes are too high in this play-offs clash, but I can”™t imagine a FIFA World Cup tournament in this era without the Black Stars representation, especially in Brazil.