Former Ghana goalkeeper Abukari Damba has called on the Black Stars to give everything they have when they take on The Gambia in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday.
Ghana are hoping to recover from their poor start to the qualifying campaign after losing 2-0 to Ivory Coast in Bouake last Thursday.
Damba expects The Gambia to provide a tough test, especially after the Scorpions won their opening qualifying match. He believes Ghana must show the same level of determination while also staying disciplined during the game.
Speaking to Graphic Sports, the former goalkeeper warned the Black Stars not to take their opponents lightly.
“The Gambians will come well prepared because they know what Ghana is capable of. They will come with the hope of winning, or at least picking a point, so we have to go all out and fight for the victory,” he said.
Damba also believes The Gambia could choose to defend carefully because of Ghana’s history and experience in African football.
The Black Stars will be missing some important players, including Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo and Jordan Ayew. However, Damba says their absence should give other players in Carlos Queiroz’s squad a chance to show what they can do.
He believes the players who have been called up to replace the unavailable stars must use the opportunity to prove themselves instead of focusing on who is missing.
“We don’t need to cry over spilled milk. We have good replacements, and this is an opportunity for them to be counted. They need to show up,” Damba said.
Although Ghana face several challenges, Damba believes the Black Stars have enough quality to take all three points from the match.
“It is going to be a tall order, but we have the potential to beat The Gambia. They cannot fail Ghanaians,” he added.
The former goalkeeper also urged the team to remain disciplined and follow Queiroz’s instructions throughout the match. He warned that Ghana could be exposed if the players become too open while trying to find a winning goal.
The Black Stars will face The Gambia at 16:00 GMT as they look for their first points in the 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign.
Ghana are also hoping to return to the Africa Cup of Nations after missing the 2025 tournament in Morocco. That absence ended their run of more than 20 years of appearing at every edition of the competition…CONTINUE MORE SPORTS>>>
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