It is overlooked most times, but confidence plays a huge role in the assessment of readiness for a big task. Confidence is crucial, and in football, confidence comes from winning.
So when the Ghanaian players hugged and patted each other on the back after their 4-0 thrashing of fellow World Cup participants South Korea in Miami on Monday night, the relief was palpable.
There was relief because the win was significant. Forget the fact that it was, as they say, just a friendly. What had happened -- the big win -- had been perfect timing, an end to a demoralising streak that came when it was needed the most; the advent of confidence. The streak? Ghana had not won a game since October.
The Black Stars had gone three games -- one competitive fixture and two friendlies -- across seven months without a win. Many fans were unconscious of this fact, while others simply played it down, but the streak was a worrying sign.
The two pre-World Cup friendly losses against Montenegro in March and Netherlands in May didn't see the team come under too much scrutiny because of the general feeling that such friendlies are meant for experiments, observations and assessments.
But what many failed to realise was that the lack of a victory going into the World Cup, though widely not considered much of a big deal, could unconsciously affect the psyche of the team. That is why the win against Korea, coming right before the World Cup, was so important.
On Tuesday morning, though, public reaction across the country was mixed. Many were happy that Ghana had won and won big, but others weren't as enthused. Amid the excitement of the goal fest, the sceptics weren't moved.
They argued that the win came against a weak opposition -- Korea had lost three of their past four games -- and while it was flattering, it only masked deficiencies in the Ghana team.
This school of thought bemoaned Ghana's porous lateral defensive areas, the lack of solidity in the central defensive pairing of John Boye and Jonathan Mensah, the shakiness of the goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, the slowness of Sulley Muntari in central midfield as well as the uninspiring show by big star Kevin-Prince Boateng, among others. Ghana had won but the team didn't evince enough confidence they were ready to take on the world.
Coach Kwesi Appiah agreed that Ghana were far from the finished product that every fan sought. "It's fine we won, but we still have some work to do,'' he said.
Ghana were not as dominant as the scoreline suggested. South Korea had more chances -- 12 shots compared to Ghana's nine -- even hitting the post and scoring a disallowed goal. But it was the Black Stars who ended up doing what mattered most: scoring and winning. They buried four of their five shots on target in what was a very effective performance.
Jordan Ayew was another positive. The young striker had only been introduced after Majeed Waris pulled out injured four minutes in, but by the end he had become the first player to score a hat trick for Ghana in almost 19 years.
Ayew has never really convinced the ever-demanding Ghanaian football fans since joining the team four years ago. Being the son of the legendary Abedi Pele had played its role in blowing up expectations. The 22-year-old had often been accused of being too raw, too naive and perhaps too overconfident in his abilities. It didn't help that he had also become massively unpopular for embarking on a temporary retirement alongside his elder brother, Andre Ayew, early last year after the duo were controversially snubbed by Kwesi Appiah for Ghana's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
He needed a display like that not only to prove himself to the many Ghanaians whose doubts of him almost seem entrenched, but also to pump up his own confidence going into his first World Cup.
Then there was Asamoah Gyan, whose excellent finish served a reminder of just how confident he has become in front of goal. The goal was the 28-year-old's 40th for Ghana, equaling the all-time scoring record. The talk of Gyan playing in a mediocre league -- the Arabian Gulf League in the UAE -- has been well-documented in Ghana, passionately dividing opinion.
But the fact that his phenomenal scoring record there -- 45 goals in 42 games this season alone and over 100 since 2011 -- is becoming Ghana's gain cannot be disputed. If anyone needed a measure of Gyan's current effectiveness, it came in how he had just one shot on target and scored one goal. Ghana's captain and most important player is now as red hot as he's coldly lethal.
All in all? Yes, the Ghana team doesn't look perfect yet. Yes, there are still a lot of questions, more work to do. Yes, they probably aren't ready for Brazil.
But it always helps to march into a tournament brimming with confidence. Confidence, after all, is a major part of readiness.