Ghana coach Appiah fires Ivory Coast warning

Published on: 30 January 2013

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah says they are ready to battle title favourites Ivory Coast at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations insisting playing Cape Verde could be trickier.

The Black Stars will play debutantes Cape Verde in the quarter-final of the competition in South Africa in the city of Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

With many suggesting that facing the Blue Sharks could be an easy task for the Ghanaians, Appiah has warned against underrating their opponents.

The Ghana coach says he prefers playing Ivory Coast in the last eight over the Cape Verdians because the latter have got unknown quality players who have got nothing to lose.

“We need to respect Cape Verde,” Appiah said.

“They are 100 per cent disciplined. It is not going to be easy. We need to work more to go past them.

"I’ll prefer to meet Ivory Coast than meeting Cape Verde.

"When you are playing a team that has got nothing to lose it’s difficult because there is no pressure on them. That is the fear in me.”

The Black Stars beat Cape Verde 1-0 in a friendly in Portugal in November.

Ghana sealed their a quarter-final clash with the debutants after leading Group B following an emphatic 3-0 win over Niger.

Source: MTNfootball.com

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