Ghana erupted in joy Saturday as the West African country reached football's World Cup finals for the first time, dpa reported. Drivers tooted their horns, crowds surged into streets waving national flags and singing praises to the players, and street parties began with the final whistle in the Cape Verde capital, Praia. Not even a power failure that disrupted activities and telecommunications in large parts of Accra and Tema, some 25 kilometres west, could dampen the celebrations. Ghana's side needed only a draw at Cape Verde to sail through, but did more than that - it strolled through 4-0 to top Group Two with 21 points from Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, their closest rivals. A handful of Ghanaians who flew to Praia made a lot of noise and waved miniature Ghana flags to celebrate victory. Ghana's Serbian coach, Ratomir Dujkovic, said he was a happy man and congratulated the players for their feat. Ghana dominated African football for several years after independence in 1957, crowning its performance with four Africa Cup trophies. Its youth teams, the U-17 and U-21, have also brought glory to Ghana. It has boasted high-profile players such as Abedi Pele, a midfielder who played in France, and Anthony Yeboah, a prolific goal scorer who played in Germany and England. But Ghana never reached the World Cup finals, where Cameroon and Nigeria have been the dominant African teams. With rising stars in its team, such as Appaih and Michael Essien of Chelsea, the Ghanaian team turned a poor beginning of the qualification series when it lost to Burkina Faso into triumph. Education and Sports Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo said Ghana would not be in Germany only to make numbers, but would make an impact. On Saturday, Ghana calmed their nerves early in the match when Sulley Montari hit the back of the net in the 4th minute with what appeared to be an innocuous shot. He made it 2-0 in the 39th. Substiute Asamoah Gyan made it 3-0 with 16 minutes to go and Gordon Attram put the icing on the cake with the fourth goal with two minutes to play.
