Wales were due to face Ghana at the Cardiff City Stadium tonight, a rare fixture that made this only the second time the national side had met African opposition. For Wales, the game was not just another international; it was a reminder of how little history they had on that side of the world.

That is why the name Ryan Green still hangs over this sort of occasion. He was 17 years old when he was called up, and his second and final cap ended after he conceded a penalty against Tunisia, in Wales' only previous visit to Africa. The cardiff meeting with Ghana reopened a chapter Wales had barely written before.

The old reference point is hard to ignore. Wales' first and so far only trip to Africa ended in a 4-0 defeat to Tunisia, a result that said as much about the gap in experience as the scoreline did. Tunisia were already 1-0 up after 18 minutes through Imed Ben Younes, and Badra added another from distance before half time left Wales 2-0 down. A third goal came from a corner, and Badra completed the damage from the penalty spot on 83 minutes.

Bobby Gould's reign still colours the memory of that tour. He had no prior experience of international football as a player, coach or manager when he took charge in 1995, and the tour was remembered for poor preparation as much as for the defeat itself. Simon Howarth said Wales had to move hotels because the first one was a total shambles and trained without balls, adding that such things happened in camps back then. Huw Davies put it more bluntly: Wales were quite capable of disturbing their own preparation.

The friction inside the camp was visible as the Tunisia match unfolded. When Wales were 2-0 down at half time, Gary Speed confronted Gould, later backing the challenge with the line that Speedo was totally right and that it was about standards. Ryan Giggs dismissed Green's call-up as a typical Gould stunt. Davies also recalled Gould changing the side after initially naming the same team that had beaten Malta two days earlier, only to alter course and fit Robbie Savage in at wingback after the midfielder complained he had given up a holiday to sit on the bench.

That history matters because it is the only African benchmark Wales carried into the Ghana match. The gap is not just that Wales had played African opposition once before; it is that the one meeting ended in a heavy defeat, in a camp where preparation, selection and authority were all being questioned. Ghana offered Wales a fresh opponent tonight, but not a fresh memory.

What follows from Cardiff is straightforward: Wales either begin to build a more useful record against African opposition, or they remain defined by that bruising night in Tunisia and the long shadow it cast over Gould's side. The result against Ghana will decide which memory lasts longer.