Ghana will begin their campaign at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament against Cape Verde on Sunday evening.
The Black Stars are on a quest to lift their fifth AFCON title after recent failures on the continental stage including dropping out in the group stage in the last edition.
The game at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium will be an interesting one with Cape Verde dubbed one of the surprise packages for this year’s competition.
Since George Alhassan led them to triumph in 1982, the Black Stars have failed to add to their four AFCON titles and were knocked out of the group stage by Comoros in a dramatic manner two years ago.
Since taking over as manager of Ghana last year, Chris Hughton has battled to steer the team on the right path.
Three losses in five games, including a goalless draw with Namibia in preparation for this tournament, have put them out of the top 60 of the world rankings on the eve of AFCON.
Ghana will face Cape Verde for the sixth time in their history having won four and lost the other one in their previous five meetings.
While a 2-0 loss to Tunisia in their warm-up game was disappointing, the Blue Sharks know their opponents are under more pressure to win the game on Sunday, so they can play without fear against the Black Stars.
The game is set to kick off at 20:00 GMT.
Ghana’s possible starting lineup:
- Ofori, Seidu, Djiku, Salisu, Mensah, Amartey, Baba, J. Ayew, Kudus, Paintsil, Williams
Cape Verde possible starting lineup:
- Vozinha, Semedo, Borges, Pico, Stopira, Rocha, Costa, Monteiro, Mendes, Rodrigues, Bebe
Prediction
- Ghana 2-1 Cape Verde