Asamoah Gyan on the cusp of history

fiifi anaman

January 25, 2017 1:12 PM

The captain stands on the verge of two major records as Ghana play Egypt in their last Group D fixture at AFCON 2017.

Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan could reach two major milestones in the history of Ghanaian football on Wednesday night.

The Black Stars play Egypt on the last day of Group D action at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon.

If Gyan features in the game at the Stade de Port-Gentil, it would be the 100th time he has played for the country. This would be the first time in recorded history that a Ghanaian player has reached a century of caps.

The 31-year-old would also reach a landmark 50 goals if he scores against the Pharoahs - a feat that would make him the first Ghanaian player in recorded history to reach a half-century of goals for the national team. The possibility of a Gyan goal against Egypt is especially high given the fact that it is a familiar scenario: he has scored three times against the North African nation before (once in a friendly in 2013 and twice in a World Cup qualifier the same year).

Gyan's current tally of 49 goals in 99 games since his debut in 2003 makes him Ghana's all-time top scorer. His goal against Uganda that gave the Black Stars a narrow 1-0 against Mali on match day two is was his eight (8th) in the AFCON - a mark that makes his the country's all-time top scorer in the competition. He is also the Ghanaian player with the most AFCON tournament appearances, with six. (2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017).

READ MORE: Ghana vs Egypt in numbers

Gyan has downplayed the assertion that reaching all these records might be awakening selfish desire to reach for more at the expense of the team. "In tournaments we don’t look for personal glory," Gyan told pressmen ahead of the Egypt game. "When it happens I will be happy but when the team wins I am happier. As captain I need to lead the team to wins, that is the most important thing."

Ghana is currently in search of an elusive fifth AFCON trophy: the country has not tasted AFCON glory since 1982 - 35 years ago.

"People expect you to score as a striker and that is what I have done over the years. I am still young and I want to win the trophy. It is the reason why we are here," Gyan added.

The former Sunderland striker currently plays his club football in the United Arab Emirates for Al Ahli, on loan from Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG. He has scored over a 100 goals in four and a half seasons in the U.A.E, a majority of which came in a spell at Al Ahli rivals Al Ain.

Ghana captain since October 2012, Gyan also holds the record of being Africa's highest goal scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup with six (6) goals.

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