Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has launched a veiled attack at Uganda ahead of Tuesday’s crunch 2017 Africa Cup of Nations clash in Gabon insisting a Black Stars win over the Cranes won’t be major news.
The Black Stars captain says a Uganda win over the four-time champions will be the major headline as Gyan seeks to establish the credentials of Ghana.
The old head in the Ghana team is the jovial 31-year-old who is preparing for his sixth appearance in Africa’s flagship football tournament.
“No disrespect to the Uganda team, but everybody knows statistically we are ahead of them,” said Gyan.
“If they beat Ghana it’s big news for them. If we beat them, people might say it’s a normal thing.”
Uganda have qualified for their first Nations Cup tournament since 1978 and are viewed as very much the minnows in a pool that also includes Mali and Egypt.
Gyan skippered the side that was held 0-0 at home by Uganda in World Cup qualifying in October so he knows not to underestimate them.
Ghana were held to a 0-0 draw by Uganda in Tamale in their opening match of the World Cup qualifiers in October, which was followed by a 2-0 loss in Egypt that already puts their participation in Russia next year in serious doubt.
That followed more success for The Cranes in the qualifiers for the 2015 Nations Cup finals when they drew 1-1 in Ghana and beat them 1-0 at home, though they failed to qualify for the finals.
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