Black Stars technical advisor Chris Hughton has praised the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for organising friendly matches for the team following the cancellation of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ghana will play five-time world champions Brazil and Nicaragua in the space of four days as part of the Black Stars’ preparations for the 2022 World Cup.
Black Stars were scheduled to play Angola in a 2023 AFCON qualifying double-header, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in July postponed the games to allow the continent’s five World Cup-bound teams the opportunity for better preparatory matches before the tournament in Qatar.
CAF’s decision prompted the GFA to organise friendlies for the team, and they landed Brazil, one of the World Cup favourites, and Nicaragua.
Speaking to TV3 ahead of the friendlies, the former Premier League manager praised the GFA for securing very good matches, claiming the Black Stars will try to win to boost confidence ahead of the World Cup, but the focus will be on the players’ performances.
“We thought there were going to be two AFCON games and so very quickly the organisation had to organise two friendly games and we congratulate them on that. [We have] two very good friendlies,” Hughton said on TV3.
“There is a lot of organization going into that. Otto’s job will be to formulate what he wants to get from these two games. The balances will be results because results matter.”
“It’s good certainly to go into the World Cup campaign on the back of winning games but it’s the result, its individual performances, and the opportunity to look at individuals because we’re now very close to the World Cup.”
“These two games give Otto, myself and the technical staff the time and experience to look at everybody and formulate the squad for the World Cup,” he added.
29-man squad revealed
Two friendlies in SeptemberBlack Stars technical adviser Chris Hughton outlines his expectations this month #3Sports pic.twitter.com/eF3UKamgtq
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) September 6, 2022
The squad for the matches was announced on Tuesday, and it includes Inaki Williams, Tariq Lamptey, and Mohammed Salisu.
Ghana will play Brazil on Friday, September 23, at Stade Oceane in Le Harve- France before taking on Nicaragua at Estadio Francisco Artes Carrasco in Lorca, Spain on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS