Black Stars defender, John Painstil, last Sunday declared that the team will shock Mali in Bamako on Sunday.
Speaking to the Graphic Sports after their friendly international game against the Cranes of Uganda, the Fullham defender said the team was fired up for the kill.
“Our determination is to qualify for the World Cup and we are prepared for the fight”, he said.
He expressed satisfaction about the performance of the team and the enthusiasm of some of the new players.
Paintsil urged Ghanaians to pray for the Stars to win the game and subsequent ones.
He lauded the wonderful support by the fans since the team’s arrival in Tamale, saying the best way to reciprocate the wonderful gesture was to win the match in Mali.
Coach of the Cranes of Uganda, Mr. Sam Simbwa, has debunked the notion that his team lost the international friendly encounter with the Black Stars at the Tamale Sports Stadium on Sunday because their Coach Robert Williamson was shown the red card in the first half of the game.
He noted that the inability of the team to call up all its professional players to handle key positions in the game was the major cause of their defeat, stressing that “We fielded only three professional players and the rest were local boys”.
The Black Stars humbled the Cranes by two goals to nil.
He observed that the Stars deserved to win the game because they were a better side.
“Although Ghana played well, I must admit that there were a few mistakes in officiating but on the whole it was good,” he pointed out.
Coach Simbwa stressed that he was not disappointed about the performance of the Cranes, adding that “they gave a good account of themselves despite losing the game”.
He further intimated that the friendly match was beneficial as it had taught them a lot of lessons. He, however, indicated that he was “happy with the performance of the Ghanaian team”.
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