World Soccer - UK (2022-06)

T

he first time

Ghanaians

unanimously

cheered forJoseph

“Jojo” Wollacott was

in Kumasi, when the

Black Stars faced

West African rivals Nigeria in the first

leg of the Qatar 2022 World Cup

play-offs in March.

For a stadium that was bouncing

with over 40,000 spectators, the

Baba Yara went dead silent for a

moment when Moses Simon worked

out a rare opening in the 54th minute.

With one deft touch, the Nantes

winger was through on goal, leaving

him one-on-one with Wollacott. If

the stadium was already quiet, that

chance escalated the atmosphere

to extremely inaudible levels when

Simon adjusted his body to shoot.

It was almost inevitable that the ball

would end up in the back of the net...

almost. A second later, though, the

stadium erupted with applause as

Simon’s effort struck Wollacott’s

outstretched foot. That save revitalised

the home fans and gave the Black

Stars a huge lift, as they battled on

to hold Nigeria to a goalless draw.

Four days later, in front of 60,000

hostile supporters in Abuja, Wollacott

would prove his

importance again

as Ghana drew

1-1withthe

Super Eagles

to qualify for

the World Cup on

away goals. Thomas Partey was

Ghana’s goalscorer on the day, but

Wollacott was the star of the show,

having pulled off three point-blank

saves to deny Augustine Eguavoen’s

side the winner.

Playing for one’s national

team comes with tremendous pride,

but sometimes it can also be a litmus

test of a player’s character and mental

toughness. For Wollacott, the jury

was out on him from day one.

There were those who considered

him merely lucky. Some felt Ghana

deserved better than a goalkeeper

playing in the fourth tier of English

football and others simply wrote

him off as not good enough.

The Black Stars’ disastrous showing

at the 2021 AFCON – where the

team suffered a humiliating group-

stage exit – further emboldened

Wollacott’s unbelievers, especially

after he failed to keep a single clean

sheet and conceded five goals in

three matches.

That it had to take the 25-year-old

his eighth and ninth caps to win over

the Ghanaian fans typifies Wollacott’s

long road to redemption.

“There was pressure on the game,

not just to qualify for the World Cup

but for the bragging rights of the

country,” Wollacott said after his

heroics. “Playing for Ghana, I didn’t

realise before I went just how much

expectation there is from the country.

Football is massive in Ghana, so to

deliver and make Ghana proud is the

best feeling. It was probably one of

the best feelings of my career.”

Catechised, vilified and criticised

before he even made his international

debut last October, Wollacott used

the World Cup play-offs to turn the

censures into applause, and also

AFCON 2021...

Wollacott

competes for

a cross with

Gabon’s Aaron

Boupendza

Swindon Town...

Wollacott has

established himself

as No.1 at the

County Ground

“Playing for Ghana, I didn’t realise before I

went just how much expectation there is from

the country”

Jojo Wollacott

The Swindon Town and Ghana goalkeeper has risen from

England’s eighth tier to becoming World Cup-bound

Headliners