Technical advisor of the Black Stars, Chris Hughton has lauded the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for organizing friendly matches for the national team ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Following the cancellation of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the Black Stars will engage Brazil and Nicaragua in an international as part of the preparations for the upcoming Mundial in Qatar.
Speaking in an interview, the former Premier League manager praised the GFA for securing very good matches, claiming the Black Stars will try to win to boost confidence ahead of the World Cup, but the focus will be on the players’ performances.
“We thought there were going to be two AFCON games and so very quickly the organization had to organize two friendly games and we congratulate them on that. [We have] two very good friendlies,” Hughton said on TV3.
“There is a lot of organization going into that. Otto’s job will be to formulate what he wants to get from these two games. The balances will be results because results matter.”
“It’s good certainly to go into the World Cup campaign on the back of winning games but it’s the result, its performances, and the opportunity to look at individuals because we’re now very close to the World Cup.”
“These two games give Otto, me and the technical staff the time and experience to look at everybody and formulate the squad for the World Cup,” he added.
Black Stars were scheduled to play Angola in a 2023 AFCON qualifying double-header, but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in July postponed the games to allow the continent’s five World Cup-bound teams the opportunity for better preparatory matches before the tournament in Qatar.
The squad for the matches was announced on Tuesday, and it includes Inaki Williams, Tariq Lamptey, and Mohammed Salisu.
Ghana will play Brazil on Friday, September 23, at Stade Oceane in Le Harve- France before taking on Nicaragua at Estadio Francisco Artes Carrasco in Lorca, Spain on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.