Before their first game against Nigeria, Ghana coach Abdul Karim Zito says they are ready to defend their WAFU-B U20 Championship title and qualify for the 2023 African U20 Cup of Nations.
The Black Satellites won the previous edition of the sub-regional competition and went on to win the African U20 Cup of Nations in 2021.
Coach Zito believes his team has what it takes to overcome the unfavourable weather conditions in Niamey and achieve their competition goals.
“We are trying to cope with the weather condition which is hotter than we expected. Nonetheless, we are trying to adapt to it and are for the competition”.
“I have been here previously for about a year so I knew what to expect around this time of the year but am happy since we got here the players have shown signs of adapting to the weather conditions”, Coach Zito told ghanafa.org.
Zito also stated that, while he had more time with the previous squad, his current team is more adaptable.
“With the previous squad, the league had been halted due to Covid so I got to spend more time with the players in camp but now the league is ongoing so after training the players return to their clubs to honour the league matches before they return to camp. However, I believe that in terms of flexibility the current squad is more flexible”, Coach Zito intimated.
Coach Zito stated that they will win against Nigeria on Sunday.
“Nigeria began camping for this tournament four days after we stated in Prampram. They got here earlier and have played two friendlies against Niger but we are poised to qualify to the AFCON “, he said.
Ghana’s opening game is scheduled to kick off at 17:00(4pmGMT) at the Stade de Général-Seyni-Kountché.
The Black Satellites will then face Burkina Faso in the next group game on Saturday, May 14 at the same venue.