Veteran coach Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie has warned the senior national team, Black Stars against complacency when the team faces the Stallions of Burkina Faso on Wednesday in the on-going Africa Cup of Nations.
The Black Stars are in pole position of clinching this year�s AFCON since favorite Ivory Coast was eliminated by Nigeria in the quarter-final last Sunday.
According to Coach Afranie, who is also a spy for the Black Stars in South Africa, Burkina Faso can cause an upset and dash Ghana�s dreams of winning the most prestigious cup of the continent if the Stars underrate them.
�There shouldn�t be any complacency in the team at this stage, we (Black Stars) are almost to victory, this is the time to make our nation proud. Burkina Faso is a very tactical and well discipline side with physic. We must meet them boot for boot.� He said.
Speaking on HAPPY FM, an Accra based radio station; coach Afranie said the sand-covered surface pitch in Nelspruit where Ghana will play the Stallions of Burkina will not be a disadvantage to the stars since most of players during their holiday�s, play on similar pitches in Ghana.
�The pitch is not a problem, I personally have watched three matches there and it�s just like our Nation�s Wembley (Accra Sports Stadium). Though the pitch is a little sandy, that shouldn�t be a problem. The boys when home (Ghana) play on �Sakora� parks and still perform.� He said.
However, Paul Put coach of Burkina Faso believes the Mbombela Stadium pitch will favour his side more than Ghana since they (Burkina Faso) have played all their four matches at the same venue.
Wednesday clash will be the first ever semi-final between both nations at the African competition. Ghana has the upper hand over Burkina Faso at the Nations Cup finals, having won all three encounters between the two.
In 1978, the then Upper Volta lost 3-0, while in 2002 the Black Stars won 2-1 and most recently they triumphed 1-0 in 2010 - all the matches were in the group stages of the tournament.
Source: Ambrose Washman/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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