The Ghana coach is not yet reassured by the attacking quality of his team. The goalless draw with Madagascar has raised Chris Hughton's concerns.
Black Stars coach Chris Hughton was not happy with his team's goalless draw with Madagascar. His players were left speechless on Matchday 5 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Antananarivo. Despite an armada fielded by Hughton, the Black Stars were unable to break the Barea deadlock. The fault lay with the almost impassable pitch at the Mahamasina municipal stadium.
The Ghanaians struggled to hold on to the ball and build their game. And yet, Hughton's players were one victory away from securing a place at Côte d'Ivoire 2023. But they failed to find the back of the net. It was a performance that many observers, including coach Chris Hughton, described as disappointing. "We're very disappointed. We came here (to Madagascar) with an attitude and a mindset to win. But to win any football match you have to score goals and we found that difficult," explained the former Newcastle manager. And that is not the only explanation for the Black Stars' draw. The pitch is difficult. A very uneven pitch but it's the same for both teams... the fact that we didn't score is the most disappointing thing," he continued.
"If we don't win our last game"...
With nine points on the board in Group E, Ghana are virtually through with Angola (2nd, 8 points) and the Central African Republic (3rd, 7 points) battling it out for the final ticket. While Hughton admitted the team's inability to create and score chances, he understandably voiced his concerns ahead of the final game, where anything can happen against the Central African Republic on 4 September. "Our strategy for the next match is to win. We're playing at home. We know we have to get a result. Obviously, it's a game where we know the consequences if we don't win," he warned.
