Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah says he was confident his side would be able to equalise after falling behind in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to already-qualified Egypt in their final World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
Speaking after the match, Appiah also said the Black Stars faced a challenge of fielding many new faces in their starting line-up.
“I’m happy with the result especially because we had a challenge of finding the right balance between three or four experienced players and several new faces,” he added.
Winger Mahmoud Shikabala shined on his return to Egypt’s fold after a three-year absence, scoring the opener for the Pharaohs after 60 minutes. Ghana’s Edwin Gyasi restored parity three minutes later.
“We were confident that we would get a positive result as the match is played at home but at the same time we were aware that the game would not be easy,” Appiah explained.
“I was confident that we would score the equalizer. The fans were a source of some stress but we finally managed to score,” he concluded.
Egypt, who sealed a World Cup berth for the first time in 28 years after beating Congo 2-1 at home last month, ended the qualifiers on top of their group with 13 points.
Uganda finished second with nine points, while Ghana came third on seven and Congo at the bottom with two.
Ghana reached the last three editions of the World Cup, making history by reaching the quarter-final in 2010.
Source:Starrsports
