AFCON 2019 qualifier: Kwasi Appiah says he's learnt a lot from defeat to Kenya

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah says he has picked valuable lessons from the Black Stars 1-0 loss against Kenya in the AFCON 2019 qualifier last Saturday.

The West Africa powerhouse was pipped 1-0 by the Harambee Stars at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

The gaffer has come under intense criticism for the consistent experimentation with his starting line-up.

“On my part, I have learnt a lot about the players. It was important to know what they can do especially the new ones and this game has shown me a lot."

“…the level I was expecting from some of them was not what they showed on the pitch.”

Appiah has come for some bashing for being inconsistent with his squad since his return to the job last year, choosing to chop and change while sidelining some known stars in what he defends to be part of his team-building process for the future.

Aside the absence of the Ayew brothers and skipper Asamoah Gyan, the under pressure Ghana gaffer chose to start star players Kwadwo Asamoah and Harrison Afful from the bench on Saturday.

“I don’t play with names; I play with players who will be fit at a particular time. Kwadwo being on bench does not mean he’s not a good player but under circumstances, we had to make some players start,”

“When you are building a team if you don’t give others a chance to play, how do you assess them? We shouldn’t look at who can play today only, but also those who can play in 10 years,” Appiah stated.

Appiah was asked if he believes the four-time African champions can still book a ticket to the biennial tournament.

“I still believe that we can qualify. Personally, I know that we will be there next year. It is an unfortunate loss, but you learn from defeat and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes next time,” said Kwasi Appiah.

Ghana will continue the qualifiers with back-to-back games against Sierra Leone next month.