Ghana in must-win battle with Angola as Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea qualify

Ghana’S Black Stars must beat the Palancas Negras of Angola in Luanda, today and pray that Sudan lose all their games to retain any hope of qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, in Morocco.

The Ghanaians have been one of the surprise teams of the qualifying series with their poor performance in a group comprising Niger Republic, Sudan and Angola.

The Black Stars failed to win any of their last four games, a situation that has made it compulsory that they must beat Angola and Niger Republic in their last two games with a prayer that Sudan fails to get a draw in their own two games.

The Ghanaians face an uphill task, as Sudan, who met Niger Republic yesterday, are tipped to get the solitary point they require to edge out the Black Stars. But despite the odds stacked against is side, Coach Otto Addo is still optimistic that a miracle could happen in these dire times.

Ghana is going into the clash without eight of their top stars, including Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey, who withdrew from the squad. While Ghana is living on prayers, cup holders, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea have no such worries because they have qualified without kicking a ball, as the penultimate round of qualifiers began on Wednesday.

The Ivoirians are certain of finishing in the top two places in Group G after Sierra Leone were held to a 1-1 draw by Chad in Abidjan. They have nine points from four matches, with Zambia second in the group on seven from four. Sierra Leone have five points with one game to play and Chad are eliminated.

Chad moved the clash to Cote d’Ivoire because they are one of 18 countries barred from hosting international matches because of the poor state of their stadiums, reports timeslive.co.za.

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