The stage is set for a battle for points as Ghana meets South Africa on day 2 of the Africa U-20 Championship.
A promising encounter beckons as both sides have set the strong target of advancing from Group B which automatically qualifies a team to participate in the Fifa U-20 World Cup later in the year in New Zealand.
South Africa are into their 5th appearance with their best finish being runners-up of the 1997 edition in Morocco. In their build-up to the finals, the Amajitas defeated Ghana on penalties after a 1-1 score line in regulation time.
width=450>
Satellites
Ghana on the other hand have won the competition three times and have been tagged favourites with Nigeria for a possible fourth title.
Ghana eliminated Gabon 4-1 over two legs to reach this stage and head coach Selas Tetteh (2009 winner) after months of preparations is confident his new crop of future stars are ready for the South Africans whom he has beaten on two occasions.
“I can confidently say that the team is ready. We have worked a lot, done a lot and psyched ourselves up well; so we are ready for the first game against South Africa,” Tetteh said in his pre-match talk.
“I always respect every team that I play with no matter who the opponent is – to play a team that has qualified to play in the Africa [Youth Championship] means they are good.”
“I see South Africa as a solid side. They are a familiar side and the fact that we keep meeting them at tournaments should tell you the development and progression of their youth system.”
“First games are most of the times difficult because everyone is fresh at the time but we are going to give it a try, do our best and see how it goes. It will be very ideal for us to start this tournament in a grand style but we also will deny the fact that it is not as easy as that,” he ended.
The Amajitas, looking rejuvenated under coach Thabo Senong qualified at the expense of Cameroon 3-2 on aggregate for the 2015 AYC. He has been sounding confident of his team's chances after wrapping up preparations on Sunday.
“We have been here for quite some time and we are all raring to go. The morale is good and the boys are well-focused.”
“Ghana are a tough side but we are equally good, so I am expecting an exciting match on Monday,” Senong said.
The group B opener is set to kick off at 18h30 CAT.
No comments:
Post a Comment
drop your comment about your football hero, their fashion style, like who dresses most, who drink most ,who hang out most like going to club , who plays with woman most and so on