The Black Meteors boss previews Thursday’s encounter with The Eagles at the continental gathering
Ghana coach Ibrahim Tanko believes his players have picked themselves up from Monday’s disappointment against Egypt ahead of Thursday’s clash with Mali at the ongoing Africa U23 Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The Black Meteors are set to take on The Eagles in their last group fixture, three days after giving away leads on two occasions in what ended in a 3-2 loss to hosts Egypt on Matchday Two.
Currently five and three points adrift of The Pharaohs and Cameroon respectively on Group A’s table, Ghana must win their last game at all cost and hope Cameroon lose ‘favourably’ to Egypt to make the semi-final.
“We still have a chance to qualify in our last group match on Thursday. Mali has zero points, we know Mali won’t give us an easy match,” Tanko said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“We are expecting a very tough game but I am optimistic that my players are ready to get the victory.
“We played well in the first half on Monday but we made a mistake to allow Egypt to come into the game. We had a few tired legs but the substitutes didn’t help us as we expected.
“I went round to each player to speak to them after the game to psyche them after the defeat. As a team, we will give our best tomorrow and see what happens in the other game.
“We only have to concentrate on our game. If we win then Cameroon will have to lose for us to qualify. We know it’s not going to be easy but we are hopeful.”
Only the first and second-placed teams on the group table will qualify for the next round.
The top tournament winners, runners-up and bronze-medallists will also be rewarded with tickets to represent Africa at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.
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