Black Stars start hunt for crown
PORT-GENTIL, Gabon – Runnersup two years ago, Ghana start their latest bid to recapture the Africa Cup of Nations crown when they face Uganda in Port-Gentil in Group D today.
The Black Stars are in Gabon looking to win a fifth Cup of Nations but a first since 1982, and Israeli Avram Grant remains at the helm after leading them to a defeat, on penalties, against the Ivory Coast in the 2015 final in Equatorial Guinea.
Ghana arrived in the port city of Port-Gentil, home of Gabon’s oil industry, on Saturday after the weather delayed their departure from a pre-tournament training camp in Dubai.
“It has been very good. The players have showed good spirit – the quality is good. We will be ready for the first game,” Grant told Ghana’s TV3 as he expressed his optimism about their chances.
“We came here to do something good. It’s OK to say we want to win but it would be unprofessional to think we will just get it.”
Ghana’s stars such as Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew are still there and it would be a seismic shock if they lost to Uganda.
After all, the Cranes are making their first appearance at the Cup of Nations since Ghana 1978, when they lost to the hosts in the final.
Later tonight, Egypt make their long-awaited return to the Cup of Nations as they meet Mali at the brand-new 20 000-seat venue in the south of the city. Egypt are the record seventime winners of the competition but have not featured at the Cup of Nations since winning a third consecutive title in Angola in 2010, beating Ghana in the final.
Now, with Argentine Hector Cuper in charge and Mohamed Salah as their star man, there is hardly anyone left from their last campaign.
One man who is still around is veteran goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, who celebrated his 44th birthday on Sunday as the Egyptian squad trained in the shadows of the city’s vast oil refinery.
Mali trained for the first time on Sunday morning after a disrupted journey from their pre-tournament base in Morocco. –