Stars coach sure of victory over Ethiopia

Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, is confident that victory against Ethiopia in their upcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group F qualifier will all but guarantee his side safe passage into next year's finals in Cameroun.

The Stars are currently third (with three points) behind leaders Kenya (seven points) and second-placed Ethiopia (four points) on the Group F log but with two outstanding games.

Ghana had earlier thrashed Ethiopia 5-0 at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, lost 0-1 away to Kenya and then had their double-header against the Leone Stars last month cancelled by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) due to FIFA's suspension of the Sierra Leone Football Association. A decision on those two matches is yet to be made by CAF.

Coach Appiah is backing his side to take their destiny into their own hands when they travel to Addis Ababa to play the Walia Ibex of Ethiopia in a must-win clash on November 18.

"So far we have kept on monitoring our players and I believe that now the concentration has been on how best we can qualify as soon as possible. We have got two games ahead of us that we just need to get a win in Ethiopia and then we all can relax," Appiah told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

Appiah said he was hopeful that his preferred players would remain fit, as he names the final squad for the Ethiopia clash by the end of the week.

“We have had no problems as of now because the monitoring has been going on well. No injuries as of now, so hopefully by the end of this week we should look at the games and then bring out the final team for the Ethiopia game," he stated.

Meanwhile, CAF has appointed South African Victor Miguel de Freitas Gomes as the centre referee for the Ghana-Ethiopia clash. He will be assisted on the lines by his compatriots, Zakhele Thusi Siwela and Johannes Sello Moshidi.