Ghana head coach Chris Hughton says his players are aware of the magnitude of their Africa Cup of Nations final group B game against Mozambique at Stade Alassane Ouattara in Ebimpe on Monday.
The Black Stars will need a win over Mozambique to stand the chance of progressing to the knockout stage of the tournament after picking only one point from their first two games against Cape Verde and Egypt.
‘’We are aware of the magnitude of this game; we know that this is a game that we have to win,’’ Houghton said, adding: “Our preparation going into the game has been the same as in the two previous games and all we can do is to prepare the team to play a very tough match as all of these games are and to make sure that we put in the level of performance that allows us to win this game.”
Hughton continued by stressing on the need for the team to welcome pressure adding that pressure is always associated with football. “I think we are all aware that this is a situation that we would rather not be in and we feel certainly from the performance and the goals that we conceded that we should be in a better position but we are not so the conversation is not difficult,” he said.
“This is a game that we have to win. The level of performance in our game against Egypt was better than our level of performance in our first game against Cape Verde so the players knew what it would take to get the result. There are no easy games in this tournament and we will come up against a Mozambique team that also knows that they have to win to progress so we have to be physically and mentally prepared for this and the players know this.
“I think of the pressure that you go into every tournament with; I don’t think it’s a reflection of the past. There isn’t anybody that is associated with the Black Stars that isn’t conscious of the trophies that we have won and the dominance that the team has shown in this competition in the past but this is a different year.”
Source: Africatopsports
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