We have put the pieces together for second game – Yussif Basigi

Black Meteors Assistant coach Yussif Basigi says the team have put the pieces together and is upbeat about their chances heading into the second friendly game against the U-24 team of Japan on Tuesday.

Ghana lost heavily to Japan (6-0) in the first game at the Fukkuoka Stadium on Saturday and have to dig deep to make amends in the second game on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

Speaking to ghanafa.org, Coach Basigi says the team is ready for the battle ahead, "The fact that we have put ourselves together for a long time; you could see glimpses of a good team. Unfortunately, the Japanese, are a well-rehearsed side with a good tactical play and it really worked for them because if you look at our side it was quite individualistic which didn’t help team cohesion" Coach Basigi said.

"They took advantage of the lapses on our side and they punished us as a result of that. But now we have also come back to do post-match analysis, we have picked all the weaknesses from our side and the strength from their side so now we are putting the pieces together to play them in our next game which I think will yield a very good result this time around."

"Ghanaians should take it easy with us because this is a very good exercise that will give us the exposure. It has exposed our weaknesses and strength."

"The scoreline may be too huge – all the same, I think that they have to be patient with us. We are going to improve match after the match it’s a matter of being patient."

"I know we need the results but they should know that getting the result is not enough – but getting a good team is the best. The result is so humiliating but getting the results and getting a good team is what matters most," he added.

Japan, the host of the Olympics are using the test matches to prepare for the summer games scheduled for Tokyo in July.

The match is scheduled for 15:00 GMT kick-off at the Fokkuoka Best stadium in Tokyo.