The coach of Hearts of Oak, Didi Dramani, has credited his team's victory over Asante Kotoko in the GHALCA Top 4 to a skillfully implemented tactical strategy that neutralized their opponents' capabilities.
In the last round of the preseason competition at the University of Ghana Stadium, the Phobians defeated their sworn enemies 2-0. However, the Bibiani GoldStars won the overall championship based on head-to-head superiority.
"We respect opponents' capabilities and we play to our strengths and then we plan around that," Dramani said, describing his team's strategy.
"On Saturday, we worked hard on how we would handle their long ball situations, anticipate their second balls, and then try to put pressure on their center-backs so they would make mistakes."
After just four minutes, teenager Frank Duku smoothly tapped home after a sweeping 15-pass play, rewarding Hearts for their quick start.
Hearts' well-organized defense was difficult for the Porcupine Warriors to penetrate, and the Accra-based team kept up their offensive threat.
Emmanuel Amankwah scored the second goal halfway through the second half with a powerful header from a corner, securing the victory and igniting celebrations among their fans.
GoldStars celebrated winning the Top 4 trophy in spite of the outcome, and the competition gave all participating teams important practice for the 2025–2026 Ghana Premier League season.
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Ekitike has missed out on Akliouche's first France call-up.
Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche receives Didier Deschamps' first France call-up, but Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike is unexpectedly underappreciated. Superstars Kylian Mbappe, Desire Doue, and Ousmane Dembele lead the 56-year-old's side for the FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers against Iceland in Paris and Ukraine in Wroclaw.
Along with players like Doue, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Michael Olise, and Rayan Cherki, Akliouche assisted France in winning silver at the 2024 Men's Olympic Football Tournament in Paris. The 23-year-old scored in Monaco's 3-1 victory against Le Harve to start the season.
Ekitike had three goals in three games for Liverpool this season. He scored 22 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2024–2025. Jules Kounde, William Saliba, and Dayot Upamecano rejoined the team, while Loic Bade, Randal Kolo Muani, Benjamin Pavard, and Warren Zaire-Emery.
"Maybe you are paying more attention to him now that he is at Liverpool, but even before that, based on his performance from the previous season, we were keeping an eye on him when he was at Frankfurt, where he had a great season," Deschamps remarked. It was quite beneficial to him. It is fantastic that he is now at Liverpool and is still productive.
Naturally, there is rivalry for that job. He clearly has the potential to play for the French national team, but I am not here to merely hoard guys. He basically has the profile of a central striker.
In contrast, Magnes is more of a wide player. He possesses many technical skills and had a successful season with AS Monaco. He could accomplish some really intriguing things, but there is still opportunity for growth, most notably in terms of efficiency, which would make him even more amazing.
With Deschamps playing a crucial role alongside players like Lilian Thuram and Zidane, France won the title for the first time on home soil in 1998 during their tenth World Cup participation.
Les Bleus defeated Croatia 4-2 in the Russia 2018 final to claim a second star after losing to Italy in a shootout in the 2006 Germany final. In what is considered to be the greatest final in the history of the competition, they lost to Argentina on penalties in Qatar in 2022, despite a valiant hat-trick from Mbappe.
France's opponents in Group D of the UEFA World Cup 26 preliminary round are Azerbaijan, Iceland, and Ukraine. The winners will automatically advance, and the runners-up will advance to the European playoffs.