Chris Hughton begins his stint as head coach of the Black Stars with a mouth-watering game against Angola in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] qualifiers on Thursday evening.
The 64-year-old was officially unveiled as the new head coach of the team on Monday at the SG Mall in Kumasi on a 21-month deal. The contract awarded to the soft-spoken manager is subject to performance review and he will be assisted by George Boateng and Didi Dramani. The contract signed by the new technical team members is running concurrently as announced by the Ghana Football Association.
The former Premier League manager who boasts a wealth of experience will hope to hit the ground running as the Black Stars begin their quest for a 10th consecutive AFCON appearance and hope to end the country’s over 40 years trophy drought.
Having failed to live up to expectations in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup, the Black Stars will hope to dispatch the Palancas Negras of Angola in the doubleheader in the round of three and four games.
Ghana was knocked out in the Group Stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a 3-2 loss to Portugal preceded by a 3-2 win against Korea Republic.
Their final fixture saw a 2-0 loss to Uruguay after Andre Ayew’s missed penalty at 0-0. They have since played in the CHAN tournament which is for domestically-based players, winning two and losing two matches and shamefully exited at the quarterfinal, losing to Niger.
Despite sidelining local players in his 25-man squad for the game, Hughton will hope to lead the side for a place in the tournament scheduled to be hosted in Ivory Coast next year.
The Black Stars who are four-time winners of the AFCON kicked off their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 thrashing of Madagascar in June 2022 at the Cape Coast Stadium, but quickly ran out of steam as they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Central African Republic four days later.
The Black Antelopes had shown promise going into the tournament, having enjoyed a perfect run in the qualifiers, where they picked up four wins from four matches while scoring nine goals and keeping three clean sheets.
In January, they played two matches in the CHAN tournament. A team of Angolan-based players drew 3-3 with Mali and 0-0 against Mauritania.
Like Thursday’s hosts, Angola have also picked up four points from a possible six in their AFCON qualifying journey so far, only dropping points in a cagey 1-1 draw with Madagascar back in June 2022.
Four days earlier, the three-time COSAFA Cup champions kicked off their campaign with a hard-earned 2-1 win over Central African Republic, with Gelson Dala and Spezia’s M’Bala Nzola scoring second-half goals to complete a remarkable comeback.
Ghana and Angola are currently separated only by goal difference at the top of Group E, making this midweek contest nicely poised and a potential decider in their race for a spot in Ivory Coast.
However, the Black Stars hold a slight edge heading into the game, given that they have won each of their last six home matches across all competitions since a goalless draw with Nigeria in March 2022.
Team News
For his first game in charge, Hughton has called up a star-studded 25-man list, including skipper and Nottingham Forest striker Andre Ayew, who boasts 24 goals in 113 appearances to date.
Thomas Partey, who has been pivotal in Arsenal’s Premier League title charge, has also been summoned, alongside a host of England-based attackers like Jordan Ayew, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Antoine Semenyo.
However, Brighton & Hove Albion full-back Tariq Lamptey has been dropped after failing to recover from a knee injury he suffered against West Ham United in the Premier League. The former Chelsea academy graduate has been replaced by FC Köln right-back, Kingsley Schindler.
The likes of Daniel Amartey and Mohammed Salisu are all in the squad, while Mohammed Kudus, who has caught the eye in the ongoing Dutch Eredivisie, will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
Meanwhile, Angola have named an experience-rich squad for their crunch fixtures, including 37-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Marques, who has made 18 appearances since his debut in August 2011.
Dala has scored two of the Black Antelopes’ three goals in the qualifiers and the Al-Wakrah striker, who now has 14 international goals to his name, will be tasked with delivering in attack alongside former Leeds United man Helder Costa.
Goncalves has also given room for a few new faces, including the likes of Pedro Agostinho, Bruno Paz, and Casa Pia midfielder Beni Mukendi, who will be hoping to put on the nation’s colours for the very first time.
Ghana’s possible starting lineup:
Ati, Lamptey, Amartey, Salisu, Mensah; Partey, Samed; Sulemana, Kudus, J Ayew, Williams
Angola’s possible starting lineup:
Marques, Buatu, Gaspar, Ndefe, Afonso, Fredy, Show, Luz; Dala, Costa, Papel
What time is the game?
The game has been scheduled to kick off at 16:00GMT.
Where will the game be played?
The Baba Yara Stadium will be the venue of the game.
Prediction
Ghana 2-0 Angola