Deputy Captain of the Black Stars, Andre Dede Ayew, has cautioned his colleague to eschew complacency when they play their first qualifying match in the build up to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Ghana finished fourth in the 2017 tournament held in Gabon earlier this year, with Ayew scoring two goals, but the former FIFA U-20 winning captain wants the Black Stars to go further at the 2019 finals in Cameroon by starting on the right footing against Ethiopia and later Kenya and Sierra Leone.
With the Black Stars trailing in their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a draw with Uganda and a defeat in Egypt, the former Olympique Marseille midfielder star wants Ghana to return to winning ways as they seek qualification for the continent’s most prestigious football tournament.
The vastly-experienced 27-year-old wants to add to his 14 international goals when Ghana take on Ethiopia in their Group F tie in Kumasi on Sunday afternoon.
“We can’t sit here and say we want to play in the Africa Cup of Nations if we don’t qualify for it, it will be very important to start the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a winning note,” he confirmed.
“We have a goal which is qualifying for the 2019 AFCON and we must start by getting good results here and we know the bad results we had against Uganda made our World Cup campaign a difficult one.” Ayew said
“That is not yet over, but we have put that on the side-line now and think about the Africa Cup of Nations. Now thinking about the game against Ethiopia where we want all three points and we’re going to work towards that.
“We can’t sit here and say we want to win the Africa Cup of Nations if we have not qualified, so we need to do our job and qualify. It’s going to be very tough and very difficult, but Ghana is a team which has to win trophies.
“Now until then is a long time, so we don’t want to predict anything, but that’s the goal we are working towards, going to Cameroon and doing something great. But before that, we have to pass Kenya, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, so we have a lot of games.”
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