England have never lost to African opposition but countless Ghanaians will tell you that this is because they've never played the Black Stars.
Already confident, fans of last year's World Cup quarter-finalists will be even more so after the withdrawal of a high-quality chunk of England's first team - - and the pledge to field a different XI to the one that beat Wales.
Although England's lack of respect for the fixture has left a sour taste for some Ghanaians, it will make no difference to players who are treating this game as a cup final.
Their real concern is its timing, coming 48 hours after as the Group I leaders stayed on course for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations - thanks to goals from strikers Prince Tagoe, Dominic Adiyiah and Sulley Muntari.
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The return of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying after a five-month absence throws up three heavyweight clashes this weekend, and the intriguing possibility of a first ever appearance at the continent's greatest sporting event for .
And although much attention will be cast towards the Chadian capital N'Djamena where a Botswana win would make the Zebras the first team to reach next January's finals, eyes will also be firmly focussed on Johannesburg, Annaba and Dakar.
In Senegal already, the inside of Cameroon coach Javier Clemente's head must be a fairly frazzled place at the moment - for the Spaniard has two fundamental issues to contend with as he prepares for Saturday evening's massive Nations Cup tie.
One prompts recollections of the 1990 World Cup, when a presidential decree from Paul Biya forced Roger Milla's inclusion in the squad - and we all know what happened next.
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You can count the legends of Malian football on the fingers of one hand, which is why this week is all the more surprising.
With the retirements of uncle Salif (the first African Footballer of the Year in 1970) and Frederic Kanoute (who's still playing club football for Seville), , that just leaves Mahamadou Diarra and Keita still eligible to play for the Eagles.
Diarra, a defensive midfielder who once netted a crucial goal to help Real Madrid win the Spanish league but who was in January, is still in the thick of things and captains the side.
Despite occasionally representing a side many pundits are claiming , Barcelona's Keita, 31, failed to make coach Alain Giresse's squad this week.
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Born in Wimbledon, my enthusiasm for the global game was already sizeable before the tragic demise of the boys from SW19. Having covered football in over 50 countries, I've been working in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's African sports section since the early noughties, recently spending three years in Africa to report on the run-up to the continent's first World Cup.
