Angola Coach Subtly Jabs Ghana Over Poor Pitch Ahead of AFCON Qualifier

• Angola coach Pedro Goncalves is optimistic ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ghana
• The Black Stars travel to Luanda on Wednesday for the penultimate game in Group F on Friday at the Estádio 11 de Novembro
• The former African champions lost to the Palancas Negras in the first round at the Baba Yara Stadium

Pedro Goncalves, the head coach of the Angolan national football team, remains confident ahead of Ghana's visit in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The already-qualified nation wants to complete the double over Ghana by beating them in Luanda and end their hopes of making it to the tournament in Morocco next year.

Angola inflicted Ghana their first defeat in Kumasi in 20 years after securing a 1-0 victory in the opening game of the qualifiers in September.

The game was marred by the poor state of the Baba Yara pitch, which led to the Confederation of African Football withdrawing its approval for the stadium to host category 3 games.

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Ahead of Ghana's visit, Goncalves took a dig at Ghana, stating Angola has good playing pitches.

“We will play good football, with wonderful players, a great atmosphere, a good stadium, and a great pitch. We will do our best to beat one of the best teams in Africa,” he said, as quoted by Pulse.

Meanwhile, Ghana desperately needs a win with hopes of Sudan losing their matches.

Ghana likely to miss AFCON 2025

Mathematically, the four-time African champions have a chance of qualifying for the tournament but will hugely depend on results from other games.

Meanwhile, the performances of the team in the qualifiers do not inspire any hope, having failed to win a single game in four matches.

Sudan, however, has been a strong side since Kwesi Appiah took over as coach and needs only a point to qualify for AFCON, as reported by African Football.

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Angola coach criticises Baba Yara pitch

Earlier, Yen.com.gh reported that Angola coach Pedro Goncalves has stated that Ghana needs a better stadium after his side's victory over the Black Stars in the AFCON qualifiers in Kumasi.

Second-half substitute Felicio Milson struck late as the Palancas Negras stunned the Black Stars, inflicting Ghana's first defeat in Kumasi in 24 years.

Despite the victory, the attention was on the playing surface, as the players struggled to make a series of passes due to the unbalanced nature of the grass.

Source: YEN.com.gh