Stars in Russia for friendly Tues

The Black Stars of Ghana departed Accra last night for Moscow to play in an international friendly game against their Russian counterparts tomorrow.

The team left without Bechem United’s Abednego Tetteh and Wa All Stars goalkeeper Ofori Antwi, while Coach Avram Grant was expected to shuffle the side that played against Rwanda at the Accra Stadium last Saturday.

The Stars were held to a pulsating 1-1 draw by the Amavubis in their last group qualifier for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Gabon.

Sources close to the team said the Stars coach would introduce a different squad because he anticipates the Russians would not be an easy side.

This was confirmed by Grant when he described tomorrow’s friendly as a very prestigeous game which he would use to show  Russians that Ghanaians also knew how to play football against big teams.

“Russia is a different game, they are very strong team and have prepared themselves for the World Cup and I hope we beat them and play against them in the World Cup”, he declared

The head coach also hinted of a possible contract extension when his  current deal expires after the 2017 Africa Nations Cup.

The 61-year-old said he was happy to be in the country and the love he had so far received from the people made him feel at home but would hasten slowly while he looked into his future with the national team.

Coach Grant was looking forward to the Stars friendly against Russia  hoping to use the opportunity to test his team’s readiness for the World Cup qualifiers.

The former Chelsea boss said he wanted to see Ghana in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and stressed that he would be happy if the Black Stars played against Russia in the Mundial because they were a strong team.