2021 AFCON qualifier: Injured Andre Ayew confident of victory against Sudan in second leg

Black Stars captain Andre Ayew who will not be available for Ghana on Tuesday says he is confident of a win against Sudan in matchday four of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Swansea star suffered a muscle strain at the team’s training session on Saturday, ruling him out of the squad for the trip.

He has returned to Swansea to undergo further tests to assess the extent of the injury.

The 30-year-old scored a brace last Thursday to give the team a 2-0 victory against Sudan in Cape Coast.

Speaking ahead of the reverse fixture against the North African side, the Swansea City star stated the despite his unavailability the team is progressing and is hopeful of a good result away.

“We could have scored more because we had other chances, counter attacks that we should have played better. But we are still progressing, we are still doing better and better and we are going to fight again next week Tuesday and hopefully, we get another good result over there”, Andre Ayew said ahead of the game on Tuesday.

“We all know when we wear this jersey we have to deliver and to deliver to get the three points. We just have to stay calm, stay compact. I believe with the team we have, the offensive power that we have, if we are able to keep clean sheets, we will win a lot of games because we always have opportunities to score goals with the players that we have. So, we need to try and defend as a team and score. That is what we did today, we defended as a team, we stayed compact and as soon as we had the chances, we scored two goals”, he added.

The team departed to Sudan on Sunday for the reverse fixture with a chartered flight.

Ghana coach Charles Kwabla Akonnor has augmented his squad with some call-ups for the reverse fixture against the North African side.

Red Bull Salzburg’s Majeed Ashimeru and Jiangsu Suning midfielder Mubarak Wakaso arrived late in camp and joined the squad for the trip to Omdurman.

Akonnor is hoping to secure a win for the Black Stars in this tie which will secure them automatic qualification to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Cameroon.

Meanwhile, Legon Cities goalkeeper Fatau Dauda has been called up to replace Richard Ofori for the trip to Sudan.

The Orlando Pirates goalkeeper picked up his second yellow card in the qualifiers on Thursday against Sudan at the Cape Coast stadium ruling him out of the 2nd leg.

Fatau thus gets the nod to travel with the team for the reverse fixture scheduled for Omdurman, Sudan on Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

Below is the squad to face Sudan

Goalkeepers: Fatau Dauda, Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Razak Abalora.

Defenders: John Boye, Baba Abdul Rahman, Kwadwo Amoako, Christopher Nettey, Alexander Djiku, Joseph Aidoo, Joseph Attamah, Nicholas Opoku.

Midfielders: Emmanuel Lomotey, Afriyie Acquah, Clifford Aboagye, Majeed Ashimeru, Mubarak Wakaso

Strikers/Forwards: Jordan Ayew, Tariqe Fosu, Samuel Owusu, Caleb Ekuban, John Antwi, Jefferey Schlupp.