AFCON 2019: Stephen Appiah Expecting Tough Tournament For Black Stars

Technical coordinator of the Black Stars, Stephen Appiah believes the upcoming 2019 AFCON will be both ‘exciting and difficult’ for his side.

Ghana, who have won Africa's finest tournament four times have been drawn in Group F alongside Benin, Guinea-Bissau and Cameroon.

However, the Black Stars have struggled to break the 37 years trophy drought since 1982.

Appiah, who led Ghana to their first ever World Cup campaign in Germany 2006, believes it would be a challenging tournament for James Kwesi Appiah’s side.

“It’s going to be an interesting [AFCON] because we will be having 24 teams participate instead of 16. That will make it difficult and exciting,” he told Goal.com.

Ghana coach James Kwesi Appiah has named a provisional 29-man squad which features Atletico de Madrid star Thomas Partey, Inter Milan wing-half Kwadwo Asamoah, Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu and TSG Hoffenheim’s Kasim Adams Nuhu.

Appiah, a former player for Juventus, believes Thomas Partey has what it takes to lead Ghana to glory in the North African country.

“Partey is doing very well and with his abilities and what he can do on the field, he can help Ghana go far,” he added.

Ghana will officially begin preparations on June 1 and will be camping in Dubai for two weeks.