Kwesi Appiah hits out at 'hateful and jealous' critics after Guinea-Bissau win

Ghana coach James Kwesi Appiah has taken a swipe at his critics after guiding the team to the Round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt on Tuesday.

The Black Stars booked their place with a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in their last group game courtesy of two second-half goals, ultimately finishing top of Group F and setting up a knockout stage date with Tunisia.

It has not been all rosy for Appiah and his team, as they have been chastised for underwhelming performances in a 2-2 draw with Benin and a 0-0 deadlock with Cameroon in their first two games.

The Stars' first-half performance against Guinea-Bissau drew some criticism too.

"When you're criticised, you learn from it and then you make sure you do the right thing," Appiah, who was also in charge of Ghana during their disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign, said at the post-match press conference after Tuesday's game.

"I do the best I can to win all the matches but at the end you still have people who hate you or are jealous of you. I really don't know.

“If you are a coach or a player and you are afraid of criticism then you should stop playing.

"People will say all sort of things but the most important thing is you deliver."

Before Tuesday's victory, Ghana had gone without a win in their last four Afcon games, their joint-worst run since January 2000 and January 2002.

The Stars also failed to win or score in their two pre-Afcon 2019 warm-up matches, losing 1-0 to lowly Namibia and drawing goalless with South Africa.

Appiah was appointed as Ghana coach in April 2017 for a second spell, his first running between 2012 and 2014.