Ghana coach Abdul Karim Zito has revealed they are inspired to beat Uganda in Saturday’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations final to crown theWest African nation’s national independence anniversary celebration.
The Black Satellites, who last won the title in 2009, are set to take on the young Cranes at Stade Olympique in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott.
Ghana will mark 64 years of breakaway from British colonial rule on Saturday.
“What happened in 2009 is history and it’s past is gone, we are talking about tomorrow’s match,” Zito said during the pre-match press conference on Friday, as reported by the Ghana FA official website.
“I can tell you that we are keen to win this trophy because tomorrow is Ghana’s independence anniversary.
“We are privileged to represent our nation here and the best way to thank our country is to win this trophy and present to our president Nana Akufo-Addo.
“He sent us to represent the country and it’s a must to win tomorrow to show him that we have achieved the task he gave us. Past success does not always reflect what will happen tomorrow.”
Ghana, after beating Cameroon 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra-time in the quarter-final, handed Gambia a 1-0 defeat in the last four to make the climax.
Uganda, on the other hand, edged Burkina Faso 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 extra-time stalemate before accounting for Tunisia 4-1 in the semi-final.
“It’s time we accept the reality that there are no minnows in Africa. Football has developed in Africa if the likes of Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon don’t invest more, we will be overtaken by the so-called minnows,” Zito added during the presser.
“For Uganda to beat Tunisia 4-1 shows that they cannot be taken for granted. We are coming into the game with all seriousness. No one came into this tournament because of their names. Beating Tunisia has given us heads up to come into the match fully prepared.”
Ghana won their first title in 1993 before adding another in 1999. In 2009, the Satellites made it a hat-trick of titles, going further to win the World Cup.
Source: Goal.com