Black Meteors want to avoid the slide of Gabon

Sports News from Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-03-19

The Black Meteors, the Ghanaian football team of the Black Meteors, are keen to avoid any mistake in their campaign to get a ticket for the first, the Africa Cup of Nations under 23 (AFCON), then the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. in the hope of winning a resounding victory against the Gabon Panthers during their match at the sports stadium in Accra on Saturday.

The Meteors have been fighting to be on the world stage since 2004 and desperately want to return to this scene, but they must first overcome the African hurdle and are determined to do so convincingly.

On Saturday, the Meteors will face the Gabon Panthers in the first leg of the second qualifying round, and they are keen to take care of business to ease the pressure that may occur in the second leg. the eventual winners will take part in the third and final qualifying rounds against the winners of the match Equatorial Guinea – Algeria.

Assistant coach Michael Osei told Graphic Sports in an interview that their country was determined to continue after their preliminary match against Togo in the preliminary qualifying round. He stressed that the ambition of his team was to qualify and nothing else.

"Our goal is to qualify and nothing else, we, the technical team and the players, can not wait to qualify. We hope to gain more goals so we do not get under pressure when we travel to Gabon, "he said.

Coach Ibrahim Tanko's teams reached this stage with a 5-2 aggregate score line against their Togolese neighbors last December, and must now defeat Gabonese to qualify for the tournament to be held in Egypt. in November.

In order to form a great team for this crucial meeting, Tanko and his technical bench have invited players from all over the world to join local stars in the camp since February 27th.

"We invited 11 players based overseas to join the local players for the match. We are very sure to have them because there will be an international break. Interestingly, the players are also eager to come play because they see it as an opportunity to serve the country. "

The Panthers, who won the first edition of the CAN U-23 organized by Morocco in 2011, would not want to miss the 2019 edition as they had done for the 2015 edition. Thus, they would do a great deal to win a victory over the Black Meteors to improve their qualification.

Osei said that although Ghana never qualified to participate in the U23 CAN, coach Tanko and his guys were ready to do everything in their power to qualify for the tournament because Is the only way to win a ticket for the Olympics next year.

"It is unfortunate that as the first team to win a medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, ​​we are no longer regulars in this competition since 2004. We want to return to this competition and will do our best to qualify. for this competition. this tournament.

"And as you know, we must first qualify for the African tournament. We are only focusing on the match against Gabon, they are preventing us now. I am happy that boys are also coping with training.

Players like Isaac Twum, captain of the team, the enterprising midfielder, Majeed Ashimeru, Kwabena Owusu, the striker who scored a hat trick against Togo in Kumasi, the tiny midfielder, Yaw Yeboah and many other quality players would all be available. selection on the day of the match.

The return match will take place three days after Tuesday, March 26 at the Augustin Monédan Stadium in Libreville.