Ghana’s Lomotey reveals Morocco concern ahead of Afcon showdown

Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Lomotey has expressed caution about the possible threat of Morocco ahead of the two sides’ meeting at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

The Black Stars and the Atlas Lions are set for an opening day meeting at the championship in Cameroon after being drawn together in Group C, which also features Gabon and the Comoros Island.

It will be their second meeting in six months following a meeting in June where Morocco walked away with a 1-0 victory in a friendly fixture.

“I’m very optimistic Ghana can qualify from Group C because of the quality of the Black Stars,” Lomotey, who plays club football for French Ligue 2 side Amiens, told Onua FM. “I know Morocco can be our major obstacle, but we can triumph over them.

“Recently, we played a friendly game with Morocco, so we know their style of play,” he added. “So, I believe we can beat Morocco and qualify from the group stages as well.

“I was monitoring the Afcon 2021 draw with Nicolas Opoku and I told him the group Ghana find itself in is a good one and we must qualify. We shouldn’t underestimate any opponent in Ghana’s group.”

In the June fixture at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, Ghana held their own until the 69th minute when Real Valladolid Defender Jawad El Yamiq headed in the match winner.

“Our target is to win the next Afcon,” Lomotey continued. “We know Ghanaians are expecting us to bring the trophy home and we will do our possible best to secure that.”

At the Afcon, the two sides last came face to face at the 2008 championship where Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari scored to ensure a 2-0 win for the Black Stars. Ghana were hosts of the competition.

Four-time African champions Ghana are on the search for their first title since beating Libya on penalties in the final of the 1982 edition.

Until the last tournament in Egypt in 2019 where the Black Stars failed to reach the quarter-final, they had successively reached the semi-final of the competition since 2008, going a step further to the final in 2010 and 2015.