Seidu Sumani had one thing that wouldn't leave his mind before Ghana's World Cup match Tuesday in Foxborough.
"Beat England, beat England, beat England. That's what we want to do," said Sumani, the president of the Ghana Association of Greater Boston.
While Ghana's 0-0 draw with England at Gillette Stadium, temporarily renamed Boston Stadium, may not officially count as a victory, it still felt like a win for Ghanaians across Massachusetts.
At watch parties on Boston's City Hall Plaza and Worcester Common, the match had been nerve-racking for Ghana fans as England put constant pressure on Ghana's defense and goalkeeper. But once the game ended, there was pure ecstasy: Hundreds of Ghanaians started dancing, banging drums and singing hymns. They were elated that the draw boosted Ghana's chances of making the tournament's knockout stage.
"We are on top of the world now," Margaret Acquah said at the Worcester watch party. "I was so scared that [England] was going to score."
Massachusetts has one of the largest concentrations of Ghanaians in the United States. The watch parties showed off their loyalty to their home country and its soccer team, nicknamed the Black Stars. In Worcester, fans dined on Ghanaian staples like yams and jollof rice. A steady drizzle wasn't enough to keep them away from the big outdoor screen.
Ghana supporters noted the stakes for Tuesday's game were especially high because of the history between the two countries: Ghana used to be a British colony. It gained independence in 1957, making it the first sub-Saharan African country to break away from European colonial rule.
John Amankwata was at a spirited gathering of Ghana fans on Boston Common before the game and said the relationship between Ghana and England isn't adversarial. But it's still about winning once the ball hits the pitch.
"We love England. Of course they, once upon a time, were our colonial masters," Amankwata said. "But many Ghanaians have made England their home. So it's all love even though it's very competitive."
Ever since Ghana reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, Amankwata said the expectations for the national team have been high. So far, they've met those standards this World Cup.
Ghana won its first game against Panama last week thanks to a dramatic last-minute goal. Heading into Tuesday's game, the squad was an underdog while England was considered one of the favorites to win the tournament. But Ghana did its best to muck up England's offensive machine.
England controlled the ball for nearly 80% of the match and had 19 shots, but just three of those were on goal. During one especially chaotic sequence, English superstar Harry Kane had a clean look to score, but his shot sailed over the goal.
As fans watched on Worcester Common, Kwaku Awuah kept telling himself and others around him to stay calm. Once their team secured the draw, Awuah was proud to watch so many Ghanaians rejoice together.
"There's so much love, there's so much understanding because football brings that unity amongst us," he said. "And it's been our anchor. Whenever the Black Stars show up, everything in the country thrives."
Despite Massachusetts' large concentration of Ghanaians, fans said it's rare that so many of them have the time to come together and celebrate their country like they did Tuesday.
Stanford Boateng, who watched the game at the FIFA Fan Fest in Boston, paid especially close attention as the Ghana players sang the national anthem before the game. It was a fitting way to kick off the match: Signing an anthem about resisting an oppressor's rule right before facing off against a former oppressor.
"You saw it very evident that the players were singing it with all their hearts," Boateng said. "So they were actually doing this in a way that they were actually fighting for our forefathers in some ways."
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