Despite the draw against Namibia in the pre-AFCON friendly, Black Stars Coach Chris Hughton remains confident in his team’s readiness for the tournament and adds that every coach is under pressure to deliver at the tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
Hughton said this on the back of the team’s goalless draw against the Brave Warriors of Namibia in a PRE-AFCON friendly at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Monday, January 8, 2024.
⏱️𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 – It ends goalless at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium 🏟️
🇬🇭 Ghana 0️⃣-0️⃣ Namibia 🇳🇦#BlackStars pic.twitter.com/NwMEfUk5dS
— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) January 8, 2024
Concerns arise with Thomas Partey’s injury ruling him out of the AFCON and Mohammed Kudus who is yet to join the camp in Kumasi.
Hughton handed a starting berth to Ransford Yeboah Koningsdorfer for the first time in as many games since being called up to the national team.
🚨 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🗞️
– Ransford Yeboah starts
– Djiku & Amartey at the back 💪🏾
– Inaki in attack
– Richard Ofori in post & captain ©️ 🧤👊🏾Your #BlackStars to face Namibia 🇳🇦 pic.twitter.com/jrcBs5RsWU
— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) January 8, 2024
The recent match against Namibia did little to alleviate doubts, as Ghana struggled to break through Namibia’s defence.
Substitutions in the second half failed to bring positive results, and the team faces scepticism about their chances in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Departing for Ivory Coast on Wednesday, Chris Hughton’s men hope for improvement, with Kudus expected to join on Tuesday.
Speaking at the post-match conference, Chris Hughton is confident Ghana will turn up at the tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
I think with regards to pressure going to the tournament, every coach is under pressure to play at the tournament.
It comes with the job, i think with regards to been ready, you never know, if we are ready you will know when the first game comes, i have been involved with teams and watch teams done well, when it comes to first games at tournaments.
All we can do is prepare the best way we can, but ofcourse it is never helpful when some players have to miss period of training, that is never helpful, but we are not the only country in that position.
And so we have to ensure that we are ready for the first game of the tournament.
The Black Stars will open their campaign against Cape Verde on Sunday, January 14, 2024, at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan before tackling Egypt and Mozambique in the other Group games.
