AFCON 2019: Coach Kwesi Appiah Optimistic Of Scaling Group Phase

Coach Kwasi Appiah has said he is confident Ghana would scale Group F despite being drawn against defending champions, Cameroun.

The four-time African champions have been drawn against West African rivals, Guinea-Bissau and Benin, who the Ghanaian coach described as very good sides but was prepared to beat them.

Speaking in an interview after the AFCON draw in Cairo, the former Khartoum manager said he was convinced that with adequate preparation, his team would be ready for any opposition.

“We have the defending champions (Cameroun) in our group, Benin and Guinea-Bissau; I think they are all strong teams. For them to actually qualify means they are doing very well.

“The most important thing is that we need to prepare very well so that whichever team comes our way we’ll beat them, give them a very good game,” the coach noted.

The 58-year-old admitted that the absence of competitive football in Ghana had affected his selection process and had to fall on mainly foreign-based players whom he believed would go out there to do their best.

“Unfortunately, because of the incident in Ghana, the league wasn’t ongoing so we have to rely mostly on foreign players. As you know, the players are professionals and when it comes to their work, the concentration is what they need to give.

“So I believe that it’s not going to have too much effect on us, we’ll go and give out the best that we can,” assured Appiah, who leads Ghana to a second AFCON since the 2013 tournament in South Africa.

On the possibility of skipper Asamoah Gyan making his squad to the AFCON, the coach said he was still monitoring the player because he had sustained an injury for which he was recuperating.