Ghana’s Black Meteors will face off with host Morocco in their second Group A encounter at the ongoing CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Meteors bagged the maximum points with a 3-2 win against Congo Brazzaville in their first game on Sunday and would need a second win to book a ticket into the semifinal.
The victory, however, left a sour taste in the mouth as a comfortable 3-0 lead was reduced to a goal lead after conceding two avoidable late goals.
Ghana are currently on top of the group and would be looking forward to advance beyond the semifinals in order to book a place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Host Morocco on the other hand, rallied from a goal down to beat Guinea 2-1 in their opening Group A fixture to secure all three points ahead of today’s game.
It took the intervention of Skipper Abdessamad Ezzalzouli who converted two second-half penalties to give his side the vital win.
They would also be going into the encounter desperate of another three points with eyes focused on clinching the trophy.
It promises to be a tough encounter as both teams appear desperate for all three points to lead the group ahead of the final round of matches.
Coach Ibrahim Tanko, however, has assured Ghanaians that they would avoid the mistakes in Sunday’s game and give a good account against Morocco.
“It was unacceptable to concede two goals after 90 minutes. The team went to sleep and we would not allow such mistakes in Tuesday’s game,” he said in the post-match interview.
“I am so angry with my players. How could we fail to manage the game well and finish like this? I think my players had forgotten that they were playing a major tournament to let in two goals towards the end of the match,” he said.
He has, therefore, called for more concentration by his team going into today’s game saying, “we will remind them of the objectives that’s needed to be achieved and the importance of our presence here.”
He said, the team would make amends by taking their chances and defending well to walk away with all three points.
He however praised his attackers Ernest Nuamah and Emmanuel Yeboah for their exploits and urged them to continue working hard in subsequent games.