There\u00a0were just five minutes remaining of an electrifying encounter between Ghana and Germany. The two sides had left no inch of turf uncovered at Estadio Castelao\u00a0and the score was locked at 2-2. Yet despite the heat and humidity in Fortaleza – strength-sapping conditions for any player – there was one man who continued to charge around the pitch, dashing back to win the ball before roaring upfield again to send in a dangerous cross.<\/p>\n
That man was Ghana No23 Harrison Afful, who had been patrolling the Black Stars\u2019 right flank all match long yet still seemed to have more pace and energy than any of the other 21 players on the field. A relatively unknown name on the global scene, performances like this at the 2014 FIFA World Cup\u2122 mean Afful is unlikely to remain in the shadows for much longer.<\/p>\n
How, you might ask, can such a phenomenal athlete have stayed below the radar for so long, particularly at nearly 28 years of age? The answer is simple: Afful has never played in European football. He has not\u00a0lacked offers, but the all-action wing-back has instead preferred to continue with Tunisian giants Esp\u00e9rance Sportive de Tunis, where he has spent the past four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had offers, but I didn\u2019t feel they were right for me,\u201d said a smiling and refreshingly humble Afful, speaking to FIFA.com<\/strong> after the Germany game. \u201cI\u2019m happy in Tunis and they\u2019ve always treated me very well, I wouldn\u2019t want to leave just for the sake of trying something new. That said, if an interesting opportunity does come my way, of course I\u2019d consider it,\u201d he added with a glint in his eye.<\/p>\n Hope still intact<\/strong> \u201cIt [fighting spirit] is part of me. If I wasn\u2019t like that, I wouldn\u2019t be myself,\u201d said the diminutive dynamo. \u201cEver since I was very young I\u2019ve been quick and I\u2019ve always liked having the ball, so when I\u2019m near it I have to go looking for it. What\u2019s more, I really love my country and my team-mates, so I\u2019ll never stop giving everything I\u2019ve got to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n How does Afful see Ghana\u2019s chances of progressing from Group G, now that their destiny is not solely in their hands? \u201cIt\u2019s a shame we couldn\u2019t win today. It would have been great to take all three points. But we ran ourselves into the ground and played really well against a team of the calibre of Germany,\u201d he said, before signing off with a vow to all Black Stars\u2019 followers. \u201cWe\u2019ve still got a game to go and we\u2019re going to give it our all to go through. If we don\u2019t qualify, it won\u2019t be for lack of effort.\u201d<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: FIFA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u00a0were just five minutes remaining of an electrifying encounter between Ghana and Germany. The two sides had left no inch of turf uncovered at Estadio Castelao\u00a0and the score was locked at 2-2. Yet despite the heat and humidity in Fortaleza – strength-sapping conditions for any player – there was one man who continued to charge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":26750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[118,115,29,3,1477],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>Of course, the versatile defender has more strings to his bow than merely speed and stamina. Citing a never-say-die attitude as a further strength, Afful’s technical quality is remarkable too, as demonstrated when he sent in the pinpoint cross that enabled Andre Ayew to head Ghana level at 1-1.<\/p>\n