Our target is to top our group- Avram Grant

Black Stars coach Avram Grant speaks about his squad’s preparations and targets ahead of Ghana’s 2018 Russia World Cup qualification match against the Cranes of Uganda.

Grant 61 showed respect for his opponents however, he says that Friday’s game will be tough, but that will not change his goals.

“I don’t think it will be an easy game, but our target is the same: to win and to do everything to be in Russia,” he said.

When quizzed about the build up to the crucial clash against the Cranes, if he has the advantage of playing at home, he highlighted his goal of qualifying to the 2018 World Cup with Ghana.

“It is the group stages. It’s a tough group, all the teams can qualify, but we have our own wishes to be there [Russia],” emphasized Grant.

“We are gonna face a very tough side and I’m only thinking about football, nothing else,”he claimed, and then added, “We started training today without three players, but tomorrow the whole squad will be together. The most important thing is to be ready on Friday. Even if we face some difficulties, the most important thing is to be there on Friday.”

“I was in the [World Cup] qualifications with Israel, a small team and we missed qualification by two goals even though we played in a group with France, Switzerland, and Ireland,” added Grant.

He finished his interview by stating Ghana’s capability of topping the group to qualify to the World Cup, laying emphasis on the importance of winning their first match.

“So, as you know, one of the reasons I came here is to understand why the [national team’s]achievements don’t match the talent. We have a big target, to do many good things, to be on top of the world, and that journey begins on Sunday,” he claimed.

The Black Stars kick off their open match at the Tamale sports stadium and will be hoping to beat their Ugandans counterparts convincingly.