Abdul Rahman Baba
Ghana international Abdul Rahman Baba is confident the Black Stars will sail through to the finals of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
The 20-year-old left-back of FC Augsburg believes Ghana have what it takes to claim a ticket to the tournament after finishing as runners-up at the 2015 edition held in Equatorial Guinea.
The Black Stars will open their qualifying campaign at the Accra Sports Stadium against Mauritius on June 14.
“I believe we can qualify for the 2017 Afcon. All we need to do is stay focused throughout the qualifiers and continue the hard work we began during the 2015 Afcon qualifiers and the finals,” Baba told Goal.
“Mauritius might not be a big name in African football but we will never underrate them. We will take the game seriously and go all out for the needed win to begin the qualifiers.”
Baba had a worthwhile season in Germany this term, with his side Augsburg finishing fifth in the Bundesliga to book a European place for the first time in their history.
“It was a very good season. I can say it was my best season as a professional footballer in Europe and I'm very happy about that. I feel really great and honoured to be in the history books as one of the player's who qualified Augsburg for their first ever Europa League.
“We will not be pushovers in the group stages of the Europa League as we are aiming to get far in the competition,” he said.
Baba joined the Fuggerstadter from Greuther Furth in July 2014 and has played 31 matches with his side, providing seven assists.
He is part of the 23-man squad released by coach Avram Grant on Tuesday for the 2017 Afcon qualifier against Mauritius.
