U-20 Afcon: Belief and attitude led to victory over Cameroon - Black Satellites coach Karim Zito

Ghana’s head coach Abdul Karim Zito has hailed the team’s belief and shift in attitude for their victory over Cameroon on Thursday in Nouakchott as they booked a slot in the semi-finals of the Total Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Ghanaians bounced back from losing to Gambia in their final Group C match to winning against one of the tournament favourites with victory in post-match penalties.

“We sat down with the players after the loss to Gambia and we made corrections to some areas especially mentally. The mental attitude was great and the spirit of wanting to win was clearly visible. Even when we were down, I told them that we have to keep fighting and try to win,” Zito said.

“We came into the game with a tough mentality and with a winning attitude from the word go. I told them that we are coming into this game to win.”

He added; “There is always an element of luck in the game. People have always said that Ghana is not good when it comes to penalties but now this is the second time we are winning on penalties. In Burkina Faso for the qualifiers, we beat Niger on penalties and nowhere as well. It was just about a mental shift.”

Ghana came from a goal down in added time to equalize and force the game to penalties where keeper Danald Ibrahim saved one while another ricocheted off the crossbar.

The tactician believes beating Cameroon is a huge statement for the Black Satellites as they aim to win their first Under-20 title since 2009, and going into the semis means they have what it takes to go all the way.

“To me, beating Cameroon is a big achievement because they are a big football country and they had won all their matches before this game. But the most important thing is that we are now into the semis and we need to focus to play two more matches,” Zito further stated.

Ghana will meet Gambiain the semi finals.