Stars must concentrate — Augustt

Experienced football coach, Ken Augustt, says the Black Stars must focus on their own preparations to ensure a smooth progress into the second round of the World Cup instead of the weight seemingly being put on the quality of their opponents.

Ghana drew three-time world champions Germany, Portugal and the United States in Group G for the June 12 to July 13 tournament, but Coach Augustt said it was neither a kinder draw nor a difficult one for the Ghanaian team.

“You go to the World Cup knowing that any team could come your way so there should be no talk about a difficult group,” he told Daily Graphic.

“Unless we have the inferior mentality that we are there to make the numbers, we must understand that winning the World Cup involves beating the best sides in the world. For this is the elite stage where the best in the world have assembled.

“We have beaten these teams before at the junior level so we even have the psychological advantage in such encounters. We also have players in the major European leagues so there is no reason to feel inferior to our opponents.”

He said the fact of Ghana appearing for a third straight time at the Mundial suggested the team had gathered some experience, and added that such experience should impact on the team’s performance at the tournament.

“If something must change, it has to be our preparations. If we consider our opponents to be of high quality, we must design our preparations in such a manner that we will be able to counter their play.

“Besides that, we must scout them and gather every necessary information. That done, we can conquer the rest.”