Ghana coach Maxwell Konadu believes his outfit will have to do more than they did in 2017 to win this year's Wafu Cup of Nations in Senegal.
The home-based Black Stars are on a mission to retain the title claimed on home soil, having reached the last four of this year's championship.
They beat Burkina Faso 5-4 on penalties in the quarter-final to set up a semi-final date with Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday.
"It will be difficult [to lift the trophy in Senegal] even though we won the title two years ago," Konadu said as reported by Footyghana.
"This one [tournament] is more difficult.
“Football in Africa is growing year after year.
"Our first match we won 1-0, [and the ] second match 1-1. It tells you how difficult it is.”
Ghana's first match - a play-off tie - ended in a 1-0 triumph over Zambia.
The quarter-final finished with a 1-1 scoreline after normal time, consequently moving on to a penalty shootout.
The Wafu Cup is contested by representative teams of the West African Football Union (Wafu).
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