Ghana coach Ibrahim Tanko has expressed confidence that his team will return to winning ways when they take on Guinea in their third fixture of the Caf U23 Africa Cup of Nations on Friday night.
The Black Meteors started off their campaign in Group A with a 3-2 victory against Congo Brazzaville but suffered a 5-1 defeat to hosts Morocco, which dented their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
As the match takes place at the Grand Stade of Tangier, Guinea only needs a draw to secure a spot in the semi-final stage, while the Black Meteors must collect maximum points. However, Tanko has insisted his players are in high spirits to make things right and have already put behind their heavy defeat to Morocco.
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“We have watched the last game again and have worked on correcting what went wrong. We have to put it behind us and I think the team is ready for the game tomorrow [Firday],” Tanko told reporters ahead of the game, adding: “The opponent needs only a draw but we know we have to win the game to go into the next stage. We are well-psyched mentally and physically to win the game. We had a good training session and the boys showed me in training that they are ready for a win.”
The coach acknowledged the possibility of making changes to the starting lineup to better counter the Guinea team, by saying: “We have watched and studied the Guinean team and we have different players that can make up the best starting 11 for the match. We will do some changes and we hope these changes will help achieve our aims.”
Tanko concluded: “We have no injury so far. We’ve had two days of rest and we made good use of it. I am sure tomorrow [Friday] everyone will be ready for the game.”
Meanwhile, defender Edmund Arko-Mensah, who plays for FC Nonka in Finland, emphasised Ghana is highly motivated and determined to secure a win against Guinea, insisting: “The people back in Ghana should have faith in us and support us because we will deliver.”
The match is scheduled to kick off at (8 pm GMT) at the Grand Stade Tanger.