AFCON 2021 Qualifiers: Stars psyched up for Sao Tome win

The skipper of Ghana’s senior national team, the Black Stars, Andre Ayew, says winning the Africa Cup of Nations title (AFCON) remains a dream the team wants to achieve but qualifying for the tournament is a must and that is what they will set out to do when their campaign for the 2021 competition continues today. 

At the Sao Tome Stadium, the Sao Tome national team would host the black stars of Ghana after their first encounter with Sudan as the race for AFCON 2021 to be held in Cameroun begins.

The Stars left Accra on Sunday morning from the Air Force Base and they are expected to arrive in Sao Tome later in the day. The left via a military carrier.

According to captain Dede Ayew, the Stars cannot afford to miss out and will thus give it their all throughout the qualifying series to ensure that they make it to Cameroun.

Ayew said they were aware of the pressure on them to deliver against Sao Tome today and they were keen on absorbing that pressure and also rewarding their fans who had supported them (despite the disappointments in the past) with a good performance and result.

Psyched up

In a pre-match press conference upon their arrival, the Swansea City forward explained the team’s outmost target was to make the nation proud, and that he had communicated to his colleagues.

“We are psyched up for the task ahead as we are very much aware of the stakes. There is always a responsibility on us to make sure we make our country proud. We accept this responsibility. We won’t always get it right but we are determined to be up there again,” the Stars’ captain said.

He added: “You don’t play in the national team without pressure otherwise then you don’t know what is ahead of you. A football player is one who wants to get back from setbacks. We want to work for our country and ensure we qualify from this group,” he stated.