Ghana almost scored the second goal against Serbia

Annan, Ghana's next shooting star

At any given moment there are names floating through the heads and across the desks of the managers of major European clubs; hot young prospects poised in their relative obscurity but on the cusp of a big breakthrough. The name of Ghanaian Anthony Annan is at the top of those lists.

Currently with Rosenborg, runaway leaders in Norway's Tippeligaen, Annan has played every minute of Ghana's ten qualifying games in the African Zone, culminating earlier this month in the Black Stars becoming the first African nation, aside from hosts Bafana Bafana, to qualify for next year's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Not bad for the 23-year-old who only two years ago was lining up for Hearts of Oak, training on a dirt pitch beside a dumping area on the sun-scorched coast of Accra.



"I was an important part of the team, not just a member of the squad," the friendly Annan told African Football Media from his home near Trondheim. "It is a source of great pride for me to have had such a responsibility. We have big players in the Ghana team, guys like Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari, players who are known all over the world. Those guys always gave me total encouragement to play with confidence."



I just stood there not moving, trying to think about what had happened. I stared into the sky and thanked God. I thought: 'We did it! I am here!'
Annan on reaching South Africa 2010


Over the course of a gruelling qualifying campaign, young Anthony, who grew up admiring Pablo Aimar and Argentine football in general, played a holding role in the centre of midfield, keeping things tight when Chelsea star Essien sought more freedom in attack."It helps a young guy like me a lot to look over and see Essien by my side. It can slow your breathing down," added Annan, who has been described as ‘the next Essien' because of the interest being shown in him from big-time clubs in England, Spain and Italy.



Annan is quick to defer to his team-mate however, saying: "Essien is a unique player, powerful and strong but elegant. When he goes forward, I stay behind and cover him. I let him go up and do his things because he is an amazing player when he moves toward goal. I'm happy to stay back and support the man."

The compact, muscular Annan can also play in the backline but prefers to line-up in midfield, where his eye for a piercing pass has made him a target for major European clubs. He first caught the eye of Ghana's then-coach Claude Le Roy - who publically compared Annan to French icon Claude Makelele - and picked him for last year's CAF African Cup of Nations on home soil in 2008.



Third place wasn't a dream result for the Black Stars, but Annan took a major step as a player. "It was my first international tournament," he says. "It was a tremendous honour that the coach put his faith in me. Every African wants to play in the CAN, and on home soil it was even more special. We did what we could do, but we lacked a little bit of luck and missed out on the trophy. Now we are a better team, and better for the experience of having lost."



Focused on claiming the Norwegian top flight, something domestic giants Rosenborg are only one win away from doing, Annan says that English football would suit him well and that he'd like to play there someday. But for now his focus is intently on next year's FIFA World Cup finals.


Essien is a unique player, powerful and strong but elegant. When he goes forward, I stay behind and cover him.
Annan on Michael Essien


Ghana sealed their place in the event on 6 September, with two games to spare, after a 2-0 win over Sudan. "When the final whistle went [against Sudan] I was so excited that I froze," Annan said, joy clearly in his voice. "I just stood there not moving, trying to think about what had happened. I stared into the sky and thanked God. I thought: 'We did it! I am here!'

"With next year being the first World Cup in Africa, we were all desperate to make sure we'd be there," Annan added about what will be Ghana's second finals on the trot and the first ever on African soil. "We were always talking about it together as a team like a bunch of kids, and then we did it."

The world seems to spreading out at young Annan's feet. With a move to one of Europe's big leagues looking likely and a virtually guaranteed place in the FIFA World Cup-bound Ghana's first team, this is one young Black Star about to shoot through the sky.

Qualified for South Africa 2010

GHANA (6 September, 2009)

Ghana defeated Sudan 2-0 in Accra to become the first African side to reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa from the qualifiers.

Inter Milan's Sulley Muntari and Chelsea's Michael Essien scored the goals in each half to give Ghana an unassailable lead at the top of qualifying Group D.

Ghana midfielder Michael Essien: "The people of Ghana wanted us to win and we did not let them down. What a fantastic feeling to be the first African country to qualify for the first World Cup to be staged in Africa."

BRAZIL (6 September, 2009)

Brazil are the only team to have appeared in every World Cup finals and they made sure that record would continue in the best possible fashion, beating their bitter rivals Argentina 3-1 on their home turf.

Two goals from striker Luis Fabiano and another from defender Luisao was enough as they inflicted only the second home defeat in World Cup qualifiers on Diego Maradona's struggling side.

Coach Dunga: "We're happy. We beat a great team with great champions. Lionel Messi might be the best player in the world. We beat Argentina, which had not lost a match at home in qualifying."

NORTH KOREA (17 June, 2009)

Iran's failure to defeat South Korea in Seoul earlier in the day meant North Korea only needed to draw in their final group match against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.

They did exactly that, with a 0-0 result, putting them into their first World Cup finals since 1966. Back then, they were memorably beaten 5-3 in the quarter-finals by Portugal - despite taking a 3-0 lead.

Coach Kim Jong-Hun: "It was so hot in Saudi Arabia and as you know the journey from Korea was long, but our belief in the ability of the players snatched the ticket to South Africa."

THE NETHERLANDS (6 June, 2009)

The Dutch won 2-1 away to Iceland to become the first European side to qualify for next summer's tournament.

Goals from Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel put Bert van Marwijk's team in the driving seat before Kristjan Orn Sigurdsson pulled a goal back.

Bert van Marwijk: "My goal was to qualify for the finals so now we have a year to prepare. Winning six straight World Cup qualifiers deserves a compliment."

SOUTH KOREA (6 June, 2009)

The South Koreans secured a seventh successive World Cup finals place thanks to a 2-0 victory over United Arab Emirates in Dubai.

Park Chu-young and Ki Sung-yueng grabbed the goals as Huh Jung-Moo's outfit strolled to a place in Africa's first World Cup.

Huh Jung-Moo: "I'm really happy that we made it. We are all satisfied with a performance that saw us ensure a place in South Africa. The players were excellent throughout the qualifiers, they did a great job."

AUSTRALIA (6 June, 2009)

The Socceroos eased into the World Cup without so much as even conceding a goal in the six matches it took them to qualify.

A 0-0 draw against Qatar in Doha wrapped things up for Pim Verbeek's team after they picked up 14 points in Group A of the final Asian qualifying phase.

Pim Verbeek: "The World Cup is a great, great event and I'm already looking forward to going there. We have to go and do it better than last time."

JAPAN (6 June, 2009)

Takeshi Okada's Japan became the first team to book their place after earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Uzbekistan in Tashkent.
Shunji Okazaki grabbed the only goal of the game after nine minutes to book a fourth successive finals berth.

Takeshi Okada: "We played very well. I think we should continue playing this style in the remaining matches."

Fifa world cup 2010 fifa 2010 the cup 2010

Brazil and Ghana qualified for 2010 World Cup

Brazil qualified for its 19th consecutive World Cup, leaving Argentina to join Portugal and France with difficult paths to reach next year's tournament.

Defending champion Italy and European champion Spain maintained their leads in Europe, while England and Germany won friendlies ahead of qualifiers on Wednesday. And in Africa, Cameroon boosted its chances with its first victory in the final round of qualifying.

The United States came from behind at home for the second straight qualifier, defeating El Salvador 2-1 to move up one spot into second place in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Luisao put Brazil ahead in the 24th minute at Rosario, Argentina, and Luis Fabiano scored in the 30th and 67th. Jesus Datolo scored in the 65th for Argentina, which will be under pressure to remove coach Diego Maradona.

Brazil leads South American qualifying with 30 points, three ahead of Chile and Paraguay and eight in front of Argentina with three matches remaining. The top four teams advance to the World Cup, while the No. 5 nation goes to a playoff against the No. 4 nation in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Brazil became the seventh nation to join host South Africa in next year's 32-nation field, following Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the Netherlands. Argentina lost a home qualifier for the first time since a 5-0 defeat to Colombia in 1993.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the FIFA player of the year, is in danger of missing the World Cup after Portugal needed a last-minute goal by Liedson for a 1-1 draw against Denmark. Nicklas Bendtner gave the Danes the lead in the 41st minute.

Denmark leads Group 1 with 17 points, four ahead of Hungary, which lost 2-1 at home to Sweden when Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in injury time. Sweden is third with 12 points, and Portugal has 10 heading into Wednesday's game against Hungary. The top team qualifies from each of the nine European groups, and the best eight second-place teams go to playoffs.
France likely will have to win a playoff for a World Cup berth after a disappointing 1-1 tie with Romania at Saint-Denis.

France looked in control after Thierry Henry's 48th-minute goal, but defender Julien Escude turned the ball past his goalkeeper Hugo Llorisslid while attempting to intercept a cross seven minutes later.

"The objective is to qualify, no matter how we get there. I'm not in the habit of giving up," France coach Raymond Domenech said. "There's still everything to play for, nothing is finished yet. It will go down to the last game."

Les Bleus are second in Group 7 with 14 points, four behind Serbia heading into their meeting at Belgrade on Wednesday.

The Czech Republic, which beat the United States at the 2006 World Cup, played to a 2-2 draw at Slovakia, which could qualify for its first major tournament. Substitute forward Milan Baros headed in his 34th international goal in the 84th minute for the Czechs.

Slovakia heads Group 3 with 16 points, two ahead of Northern Ireland. The Czechs are fifth with nine.

Czech forward Jan Koller, the country's leading scorer with 55 international goals, retired from the national team after last year's European Championship, returned for this match, then said he was retiring for good from the national team.

"It's now up to the younger ones," the 36-year-old said. "I'm not good enough for it."

At Tblisi, Georgia captain Kakha Kaladze -- who plays for AC Milan -- headed two own goals in the 57th and 67th, giving Italy a 2-0 victory over Georgia.

"If we had to rely on two own goals to win, then so be it," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. "But such was the way we were playing we would have scored anyway as we were creating many chances."

Italy leads Europe Group 8 with 17 points heading into Wednesday's game against Bulgaria in Turin. Second-place Ireland, which trails by one point, won 2-1 at Cyprus as Robbie Keane scored in the 83rd minute with a headed goal from seven yards.

Spain routed Belgium 5-0 as David Villa scored two goals and set up two others.

Villa had a penalty kick saved, then fed Valencia teammate David Silva for the first goal in the 41st minute. Villa made it 2-0 with a long shot in the 49th and found Gerard Pique alone in front of goal one minute later.

Silva boosted the lead to 4-0 in the 68th, and Villa tapped in a shot in the 85th.
Spain, the European champion, is atop Group 5 with 21 points and holds a six-point lead over second-place Bosnia-Herzegovina, which won 2-0 at last-place Armenia.

At Wembley, Jermain Defoe boosted his chance to start in England's World Cup qualifier against Croatia, coming off the bench to score the second goal in a 2-1 exhibition victory over Slovenia.
Frank Lampard converted a penalty kick in the 31st minute after Wayne Rooney appeared to drag down Slovenia defender Bostjan Cesar. Zlatan Ljubijankic scored for Slovenia in the 85th with a near-post header after errors by both Glen Johnson and Joleon Lescott.

David Beckham was on the bench, but the midfielder didn't make an appearance and remained on 113 international caps, 12 shy of goalkeeper Peter Shilton's record.

Mario Gomez and Mesut Oezil scored to give Germany a 2-0 victory over World Cup host South Africa in a friendly match at Levekusen.

Germany leads Group 4 with 19 points and hosts Azerbaijan on Wednesday. Russia is one point back following Saturday's 3-0 win over Liechtenstein.

Cameroon won 2-0 at Gabon on goals by Achille Emama and Samuel Eto'o. Only the top team in each group qualifies, and the Indomitable Lions need another win when they host Gabon on Wednesday.

Ivory Coast improved its record to four victories from four games, routing Burkina Faso 5-0 as Didier Drogba scored twice