Qualification not in our hands, but we stay positive – FA Communications Director
The Communications Director for the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Henry Asante Twum, has acknowledged that Ghana’s struggles in the AFCON qualifying campaign are highly unfortunate, noting that the team’s qualification chances are no longer fully within their control.
The Black Stars have managed only two points from a possible 12, scoring just one goal across four matches, and now face the possibility of missing out on AFCON for the first time since 2004.
To keep their qualification hopes alive, the Black Stars must secure wins over Angola and Niger, and hope Sudan lose their remaining two matches against the same countries.
“Well, it’s something that came up in our normal technical team meetings. Unfortunately, we do not have time on our hands. The team trained on Monday and yesterday. Today, we will do light training before we depart for Angola.
So we do not have enough time to go through all those pleasantries that we normally take the team through when they are in camp. We are very much focused on the games.
We want to go into the games with a positive mindset that has always been the driving force for this team. We go into games thinking we have to win. We go into games with a plan to win. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the results in the last four games,” he said.
According to him, the team was poised to get the points at stake despite the circumstances surrounding the preparation and the games proper.
“So, like I said earlier, we’ll hold another training session today at the Accra Sports Stadium behind closed doors, before departing for Luanda to face the Palancas Negras of Angola on Friday at the Estadio 11 de Novembro,” he added.
Angola defeated the Black Stars 1-0 in the opening match of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, dealing a disappointing blow to Ghanaian fans.
Although they have secured qualification, the Angolans are leaving no stone unturned as they aim to celebrate qualification with their fans at home by beating the Ghanaians.
