Mali defeat has awakened us - Owusu Bempah

Black Satellites captain Owusu Bempah has described Ghana's defeat to Mali as a wake-up call to the team as they prepare to face Nigeria in the semi-finals of the competition.

The Satellites started the tournament on a flying note, winning their first two matches against South Africa and Zambia to book a semi-final final place but lost 1:0 to Mali in the final group match to emerge as runners up.

But the captain believes the defeat has spurred them on rather than demoralize their campaign.

"The defeat to Mali was a wake-up call for us," Bempah said.

"Our first objective was to qualify for the world cup and we had done that, but we wanted to win that game."

"We have gone back to the drawing board and listened to what our coaches have for us as we are prepared for the semi-finals," said the captain.

The Ghana and Nigeria semi-final clash will be played in Dakar on Wednesday before Mali faces Senegal in the other semi-final on Thursday.