U23 AFCON: Black Meteors To Face Egypt Today

“We will not only work on winning the match but we promise to make the game attractive for the fans," - Ibrahim Tank

U23 AFCON: Black Meteors To Face Egypt Today
Black Meteors Players

The Black Meteors opened their Africa U23 Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-1 draw against Cameroon on Friday.

The Meteors didn’t get the best of start and had defender Habib Mohammed to thank for reaching a loose ball to score and snatch a draw on the night.

However, they will have to produce an improved performance when they face off against host Nation Egypt in the second group game today.

The Ghanaians need a win against Egypt to keep their hopes alive and to boost their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.

The Egyptians having beaten Mali 1-0 will also have the crowd behind them at the Cairo International Stadium.

Head coach Ibrahim Tanko believe that the partisan home crowd will make the game difficult.

 

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“Playing against the host nation won’t be easy because they have the fans on their side but we are ready for the game against Egypt and we are going for a win," Tanko said at the pre-match press conference, as reported by the FA's official website.

He, however, assured that his players are ready for the task and will deliver three points.

“The players know what’s at stake. This is the second game and it's against the host nation. I am sure my players are ready.

“We’ve told the players to be ready for a difficult match. Egypt has a good team and we saw that in their first match.

“I’ve watched the Egyptian team twice and we will continue to work on our game plan.

“We will not only work on winning the match but we promise to make the game attractive for the fans."

Ghana’s last group game will be against Mali on Thursday.

The top two teams at the end of the group stage will qualify for the semi-finals whiles the ultimate tournament champions, runners-up and bronze medalists get rewarded with tickets to present Africa at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.

Making their debut at AFCON since the tournaments inception in 2011, the Black Meteors have not qualified for the Olympics since 2004.