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The Black Stars of Ghana’s fate in the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in Cote d’Ivoire will be decided today, Monday, January 22, 2024, when the team comes up against Mozambique.
The ‘Stars’ had a very disappointing start on their AFCON journey in Group B having lost by 2-1 to Cape Verde before holding Egypt, the record holders of the competition to a 2-2 draw last Thursday.
Ghana, giving away their lead on two occasions and allowing the Egyptians to level on those counts have gone 180 minutes of football action in Cote d’Ivoire without a win.
Meanwhile majority of the general public have praised the stars for putting up a commendable display owing to Mohammed Kudus’s stupendous and world-class performance where he scored twice.
Ghana, having accumulated one point same as Mozambique in two matches behind Egypt (2 points) and leaders Cape Verde (six points), the former’s destiny lies in their own hands tonight.
Going into today’s game, the Black Stars will have no excuse than beating their counterpart to enable them to progress to the round of 16, after failing to win their first two games at the group stage.
With a scintillation and outstanding performance against Egypt raising the bar and setting the stage for a crucial battle against Mozambique, the final hurdle in Group B becomes a make-or-break.
What makes the game more crucial and interesting is that both Ghana and Mozambique are leveled on the same point, thus, a win for either side would be paramount to their qualification for the last 16.
However, weighing up all factors into consideration, the four-time AFCON champions must be awake from their sleep and have a sense of urgency to address the unpardonable mistakes that caused the team’s progress in the Egypt game.
Head to Head
The highly anticipated match is scheduled to be played at the Stade Alassane Ouattara in Ebimpe at 8:00 PM.
Need to avoid mistakes against Mozambique
Black Stars right back Denis Odoi has cautioned the team to be devoid of errors in the game, noting that they need to get it right against the ‘Mambas’ if they are to qualify from the group.
“If we lose, we do not lose as individuals, we win together and we lose together, I don’t think it is due to the pressure. At this level, you make certain mistakes. In the upcoming game we have try and avoid the small mistakes and be very ready and focused throughout the game,” he said at the pre-match press conference.
Being aware of Mozambique’s threat
Chris Hughton who is the coach of the side says his players are aware of the magnitude of the clash, adding, that they will ensure a win to get a chance of progressing.
“We are aware of the magnitude of this game; we know that this is a game that we have to win. Our preparation going into the game has been the same as in the two previous games and all we can do is to prepare the team to play a very tough match as all of these games are and to make sure that we put in the level of performance that allow us to win this game.’’
Mozambique confident of victory against Ghana
Mozambique coach Chiquinho Conde in the pre-match press conference expressed his team’s determination to win the match and eliminate Ghana from the tournament.
He asserted that Ghana is under pressure and feeling frustrated due to their lack of recording a victory at the AFCON and therefore they are keen to take huge advantage of the situation.
“We will play at 200% to win this match. We know Ghana hasn’t won a match and understandably are somehow frustrated and don’t have peace of mind, even though they have some quality. They play with the motivation of the fans also. We will try to provoke them and approach the match as a final,” a confident Mozambique gaffer stated.
Avoiding 2021 AFCON disaster
Ghana’s participation in the last AFCON (2021) in Cameroon ended abysmally following a shocking 3-2 defeat to Comoros Island in a similar scenario. It proved a historical win for the debutant.
A loss to Morocco, and Comoros, and a draw with Gabon saw Ghana winless in its group games and failed to progress from the group stage of any AFCON tournament for the first time in 16 years after Egypt 2006.
A similar feat tonight in Cote d’Ivoire 2023 will become the first time the Black Stars have consecutively exited the continent’s biggest football tournament in history.
Can the ‘Stars really pull the trigger against the ‘Mambas? An exclusive 90 minutes will have the final say.
