World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Ghana coach Chris Hughton admits slow start in Madagascar win

Black Stars coach Chris Hughton has acknowledged his team's slow start against Madagascar in their opening clash of the World Cup qualifier at the Baba Yara Stadium on Friday.

Despite the Black Stars securing a narrow but crucial win in injury time, they were not convincing in the first half as they got dominated by the Malagasy per the end-of-half statistics.

However, a few substitutions impacted the game which eventually got Ghana the desired result in front of the anxious crowd in Kumasi.

Speaking after the game, Hughton said, "That's football sometimes it takes a second for something to happen. We showed a bit of nervousness in the first half. This is the first game of the campaign. We were little bit nervous. The second-half performance was excellent."

Ghana are now second in Group I behind Comoros who also secured a win against the Central African Republic in another group I game with Mali set to face Chad in the third game of the first round.

Ghana will now shift their attention to their next game against Comoros which comes off on Tuesday in Morocco.