Former Black Stars goalkeeper, Fatau Dauda, has stated that although playing at the World Cup was a great experience, he was disappointed with the team’s general performance.
The former AshantiGold shot-stopper featured for Ghana in the 2014 edition in Brazil. The tournament was a bad one for Ghana as they finished bottom of their group and failed to win a single game.
In an interview on Countdown Qatar, he recalls that experience.
“I have been in the World Cup once, that was 2014 so that’s the World Cup I can talk about. It wasn’t good for us the players because we couldn’t progress in the tournament but it was nice being in the World Cup. It’s good to play in the World Cup as a player.”
“We couldn’t progress from the group stages so that was the most painful thing but it was a very good experience for some of us who were playing in the World Cup for the first time.”
He also looked back at an interesting moment in Brazil where he celebrated wildly after saving a header from Cristiano Ronaldo.
“The reason why I celebrated Ronaldo’s save was before the game, we did some workouts with our goalkeepers’ trainer. We trained on how Portugal play their set pieces because Ronaldo is good at set pieces. We trained on how to save crosses. It was like you learning to write an exam and what you learned, you see the thing happening.”
Dauda was also asked about the current crop of goalkeepers in the Black Stars squad.
He believes that Jojo Wollacott is the first choice ahead of the World Cup.
“We all know that when Ofori was injured, Wollacott came in and we did well against Nigeria home and away. I think if the tournament starts now, I know he [Wollacott] is our number 1.”
The 37-year-old played 26 games for the Black Stars.
Source: 3Sports|Ghana