The once-legendary Black Stars could become the first African team to reach the semi-finals of soccer's biggest showpiece. By reaching the quarterfinals, Ghana has already surpassed expectations and equalled the exploits of fellow West Africans, Cameroon and Senegal. Cameroon became Africa's best performers at the World Cup after they reached the quarterfinals in 1990 in Italy. After starting with a sensational 1-0 win over Diego Maradonna-inspired defending champions, Argentina, in the group stages, the Indomitable Lions eventually succumbed in the quarter-final to a star-studded England side that included Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker. Like Cameroon in 1990, debutantes Senegal caused an upset in the first match of the 2002 World Cup with a 1-0 defeat of another defending champion, France, before crashing to Turkey in the quarterfinals. On both occasions, the two West Africans waged a tough battle and only fell in extra-time.
Like their counterparts, Ghana started the tournament strongly with a 1-0 win over Serbia and would now look to exorcise the ghost that haunted both Cameroon and Senegal in the quarters.
