Stars set traditional target of AFCON triumph after qualification

The Black Stars have set their sights on AFCON glory moments after clinching their place at the Nations Cup on Sunday.

Andre Ayew and Christian Atsu got on the end of two Baba Rahman set ups to complete qualification for the 2017 Nations Cup with a routine 2-0 win over Mauritius, the seventh consecutive time the Black Stars have reached the competition since 2006.

Ghana’s place at next year’s event was never in doubt particularly in a group with Mauritius, Rwanda and Mozambique. The Black Stars have won four of their five games and drawn one, scoring thirteen goals in the process while letting in only two.

With qualification out of the way, Grant is clear in his mind about what the next target should be. Asked if winning would be the main target, Grant said: “Of course. We know that it is a lot of team’s ambition to win, but we did so well in the last African Cup, we deserved the cup, we were better in the final, we didn’t take it because of penalties.”

Stand-in captain Dede Ayew has played in four of the last six AFCON and endured the pain of losing in two finals noting that the preparation for Gabon must start now.

“It is a great victory for us; we needed this victory so that we can seal our qualification to the AFCON, now we have made it,” Dede said.

“Six months to the tournament and we need to prepare in advance and be ready for this tournament which is an important one to us.

“Six months to the tournament, we are not going to talk too much, I think what is important is the preparation, if you want to do something in a tournament, you need to prepare well.

“People are going to go back to pre-season, they are going to have long six months, there can be injuries, there can be so many things in six months so we need to be calm, prepare ourselves mentally, physically because this tournament a very important tournament for us.”