Ghana coach Chris Hughton is highly optimistic about beating Central African Republic in the final round of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Thursday.
Both teams are separated by just two points and this makes for an exciting affair at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
The Black Stars remain unbeaten in the qualifiers so far, having secured three draws in their last four Group E matches, including a 1-1 stalemate with the Central African Republic in June 2022.
With nine points from five qualifying matches, Ghana sit top of Group E, one point above second-placed Angola and two above Thursday’s visitors.
Hughton’s men need only a draw to secure a 10th straight appearance at the continental showpiece.
“I think all I can do is to speak on behalf of myself as Head Coach of course the Black Stars is all I can do. What any opposition manager or player has to say about their own team or the game is of course their opinion,” former Newcastle United manager said in his press conference.
“My opinion is that there are no easy games in this group – home or away. The level of African Football has improved significantly over the years, which means that there are no easy games so we will have to treat a good opposition with the respect that they deserve.
“But I will go back to what I said; we are playing at home here in Kumasi in front of our home supporters and we hope they can drive us on to the victory that we want.
He added: “I think the question applies to myself and the whole of the team. There isn’t one player that is in the squad that is not very conscious of what tomorrow’s game means. I think we know the Mathematics, we know about winning or drawing the game and the consequences of losing it so that has to be a driving factor.
“There isn’t a player in the squad that hasn’t played games that may be at the end of the season or at some stage in a semifinal or a final where the game means more.
“This is the last qualification game and everybody is aware of what this game means and we don’t want this to be a burden, we want that to be something that drives these players on to get the result that we need and we want.”
. @GhanaBlackstars Coach, Chris Hughton opened up on tactics to employ in today’s game and why it’s important to win games.
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