The Black Meteors’ head coach, Ibrahim Tanko, is optimistic that they can turn their 2019 misfortunes around and finally qualify for the Olympic Games by placing first or second in the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ghana is getting ready for the AFCON, which acts as the championship’s qualifying event, with the goal of making an announcement about their return to the international competition after their previous appearance in 2004.
Ghana just missed out on participation in the prestigious competition in 2019 after losing to South Africa in their third-place playoff match.
As they continue to get ready for the competition that will take place in Morocco later this year, the squad is prepared to give it everything they’ve got to maybe put an end to their sabbatical.
In a game that thrilled coach Ibrahim Tanko on Thursday at the Alexandria Stadium, Ghana held Egypt to a thrilling 1-1 draw as part of their pregame preparations.
He claimed that the players’ performance was sufficient to have reasonable expectations of progressing beyond 2019.
“I consider it to be an excellent experience. With one penalty, we narrowly missed qualifying for [the Tokyo Olympic Games] Japan, but when I look at this squad, I’m quite optimistic that we’ll make it this time,” he said following the match.
“And I believe that this time we will succeed when I consider the game today and the people who have yet to join us.
“The goal is to qualify for the Olympics, but there is also a cup to win, so we will try our best to do that, but if we finish second or third and qualify, I think it’s all good.
Before traveling to Morocco, Ghana will play one more game. There, they’ll compete in Group A alongside the Moroccans, Congo, and Guinea.
By Asare Caleb
