Image copyright: Getty Images
International Friendly Match
Ghana vs Ivory Coast
Cape Coast Sports Stadium
Cape Coast, Ghana
Saturday, 12 June 2021
Kick-off is at 19:00 CAT
Ghana will meet West African neighbours Ivory Coast in an international friendly match at Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Saturday evening.
The encounter will serve as preparation for both teams in build-up to the
2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which are set to kick-off in September this year.
Both teams have already been in action this month with Ghana going down 1-0 to Morocco on Tuesday evening.
Captain Andre Ayew started on the bench in Rabat but is expected to return to the starting XI alongside Thomas Partey, who was excused from the trip to Morocco. Brentford winger Tariqe Fosu is also expected to play some part on Saturday.
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“In my opinion, we didn’t look bad at all. First of all, it was important for me to see how disciplined we could play; the team spirit, work ethics, we showed great understanding of how to play," said Ghana head coach CK Akonnor following the Black Stars' defeat to Morocco.
“Obviously, we played against an opponent which has been very, very good in previous matches and like I said earlier, they have not lost a match since the 2019 AFCON.
“We made things very, very difficult for them, especially in the first half, and in the second half we opened up and attacked. If you look at the way we played, the negative part is that we lost but there have been a lot of positives.
“We have some few guys to join us [before the Ivory Coast match], if we get all of them and work like this, I think going forward we are very hopeful,” he added.
Ivory Coast beat Burkina Faso 2-1 last weekend thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Manchester United star Amad Diallo.
Even without Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha, Elephants head coach Patrice Beaumelle isn't at a lack for world class talent with Diallo, Sebastien Haller, Franck Kessie and Serge Aurier all set to start in Cape Coast on Saturday.
Image copyright: Getty Images
This will be the first meeting between the two nations since the epic 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.
The match ended 0-0 after extra time before the Elephants triumphed 9-8 on penalties.
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