Black Stars confident of beating Lesotho

The technical team and players of the senior national team, the Black Stars, are upbeat about victory in their World Cup qualifying match against Lesotho on June 1, at the Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi.

The players have promised to go all out and play a determined game to deliver the joy of the nation and promised against being complacent nor underrate their Lesotho counterparts, to keep them on course to making it to the prestigious FIFA World Cup tournament in Brazil.

Kwesi Appiah, Head Coach of the Stars told GNA Sports in Kumasi on Tuesday that, morale in camp is very high.

“We are going into the match with all the seriousness it deserves and I have cautioned my players to stay focused”, he said.

The match, he noted, is going to be a test case for the team, given its sublime performance at the 2010 World Cup championship in South Africa.

Coach Appiah expressed confidence in the locally-based players drafted into the team and said he has every reason to believe that they would not disappoint Ghanaians, especially the fanatical supporters of the Ashanti Region.

He called on all Ghanaians to give every needed support to the Stars to enable them win convincingly.

Friday’s football match is the first Coach Appiah will officially take charge since his appointment.

Samuel Inkoom, a defender of the team also told the GNA Sports that the absence of some key players including Michael Essien, John Mensah, John Paintsil and Asamoah Gyan would not affect the team’s performance.

“I believe that we have equally good and talented players to do the job”, he said.

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, a midfielder, thanked fans in the Kumasi Metroplois for the encouragement and moral support since the Stars arrival in the Garden City on Sunday. “We will reciprocate this with a win on Friday.” He added.

The Black Stars are expected to play friendly matches with some local teams, including Envoys, ahead of the qualifier.**