By Biwah Bryan
Lionel Messi has been named FIFA Men’s Player of the Year for the umpteenth time after defeating Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain and Erling Haaland of Manchester City.
The said award was voted by Coaches, captains, journalists and admirers who picked Messi as the supreme player over Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haalan who won a treble with Manchester City.
Messi assisted PSG in winning the French Ligue 1 championship side-by-side with Kylian Mbappe after leading Argentina to a World Cup title.
He later moved to MLS franchise, Inter Miami in 2023 where he scored a total of 10 goals, assisting Inter Miami to secure the 2023 League Cup, a competition that involved MLS teams and Liga MX teams in Mexico.
The players were assessed based on their performance after the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar till August 20th, 2023.
Haaland, despite scoring 52 goals in 53 games during the 2022-2023 season and helping City to attain a treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League titles, came seco
nd in the poll because fewer national team leaders gave him the first-place vote.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
After the disappointing defeat to Cape Verde in Ghana’s first Group B match at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON), some Ghanaian fans are optimistic of a better performance in the next game against Egypt on Thursday.
Cape Verde shocked the Black Stars to a 2-1 defeat last Sunday to occupy the summit of the table with three points while Ghana stayed at the bottom.
Egypt and Mozambique occupy the second and third positions with a point each after their pulsating two all draw in the other Group B encounter.
Unperturbed by the setback, some Ghanaian fans here in Abidjan are looking forward to a massive comeback against Egypt to ensure the team qualifies to the next stage of the competition.
With the national team usually slow starters to tournaments, they believe that the Black Stars can secure three points against the Pharaohs.
Speaking to the media, Kwame Owusu, a Ghanaian said, with a proper lineup for Thursday’s game, Ghana would beat Egypt and qualify to the next stage.
‘We can get three point
s against Egypt and probably beat Mozambique to qualify. The team must just get things right this time,’ he said.
The Chief Drummer for the Black Stars, Joseph Langabel who blamed the players for their abysmal performance in the first game, said there was always room for improvement.
‘This kind of football by the Black Stars is clearly unacceptable. They play as if there is nothing at stake and would at the end, break our hearts,’ he stated.
‘They really need to sit up in the next game, otherwise we would not qualify to the next stage of the competition,’ he stressed.
Afua Serwaa, who was hoping to hit the streets of Abidjan to celebrate Ghana’s victory said, ‘I am sure there would be victories in subsequent games. We must trust the boys to deliver.
‘Dede Ayew and his team must win the next match to compensate Ghanaians for the heartbreak,’ she added.
Meanwhile, in expressing their confidence ahead of the next game, the fans stormed a local restaurant, Maquis Du Val to celebrate ahead of Thursday’s game
.
Numbering over 100, they sang jama songs and other local melodies amidst wild dance moves much to the admiration of staff and patrons of the restaurant.
Source: Ghana News Agency