The Black Stars trainer believes all the 16 teams participating in the ongoing AFCON tournament in Gabon have prepared so well for every game and does not see why a team should be underrated before a game.
According to the Israeli technician, the shocking results that have happened in the tournament is an evidence to why the Black Stars should put all their Arsenals together as they seek for a total victory over Mali, a side Ghana has struggled to beat for time now.
Speaking at a presser ahead of Saturday’s clash against Mali Grant said ”There are no easy games for any team. This tournament is very tough even in the qualifiers. We played a friendly against Mali that ended in a 1-1 draw in Paris. They are a good and well-organized team but we know what we want to do.”
He also expressed disappointment about Baba Rahman’s injury situation.
”We are not happy for Baba Rahman’s injury as he is one of our best and most promising players. We are going to miss him as a player and as a person too. But we have a squad of 23 players and I’m sure the one who replaces him will do a very good job.”
Contrary to reports in the media that deputy captain Andrew Ayew may not be available for selection against Mali this what Grant had to say” Andre Ayew was not feeling good yesterday. We have to wait and see his condition after the afternoon training session.”
”We know Mali is a good and very physical team, but I don’t think we are a weak one either. We will play on our positive points. Every team has its strength and weakness points, and we have to work on that.”
Grant is however optimistic the Black Stars will improve on their performance against Uganda on Tuesday and fight for the important three points at stake make Ghana’s chances of qualifying to the Quarter final stage smoother.
”I think we played a very good first half against Uganda. We were a bit tired in the second half because most of my players don’t play regularly, and also we didn’t have enough preparation. We showed good character and the important thing was to win. It’s a very tight tournament and I see many teams that have the qualities to go far.”
”I never think negative, and the people in Ghana know what the profile of their team is. We were not the favourites at the last AFCON (in 2015), yet we reached the final. We just think of winning the next game and then let anything happen. We are not the only candidates. Even that we have lots of problems but we will show the character we’ve got like we did two years ago.”
Avram Grant concluded” I think so far the level of football here is high and I have enjoyed most of the games. The gap between the teams is very small and any team can win, and that is a good development for Africa.”
