Karim Zito the head coach of Ghana U-20 men’s team, Black Satellites, has attributed his team’s defeat to the Flying Eagles of Nigeria to bad weather.
Ghana got their 2022 WAFU Zone B qualifiers in Niger Republic, off to a poor start after losing 2-0 to the Flying Eagles in their Group B opener on Sunday.
A goal in each half from Aminu Muhammad and Ahmed Abdullahi, sealed the win for Ladan Bosso’s men.
Muhammad broke the deadlock in the 5th minute after running on to a through pass, rounded the keeper before firing into the net.
And in the 78th minute, Abdullahi doubled their lead as he went past a couple of Ghanaian markers before hitting a superb volley into the net.
And speaking after the defeat, Zito posited that his players could not perform to their best as they struggled to cope with the weather.
However, Zito praised the Flying Eagles for arriving Niger Republic early and played some friendly games which contributed to their win against Ghana.
“There were some factors that affected us, one of them is the weather,” Zito said on Brila FM.
“Look at the atmosphere here, what is happening here and in Ghana, here it is hell. That is why I commended Nigeria by coming early and playing some friendly matches.
“For you to acquire the necessary energy you need to do what you have to do, so we will use the Nigerian game to prepare ourselves for our next game against Burkina Faso. We are going to use the next match to make amendments.
“Before coming to Niger in Ghana we all so the players they were very mobile but they couldn’t run here which was down to the issue of the climate because there are factors that affect performance and one of it is weather.”
Zito, who led Ghana to win the 2020 WAFU Zone B tournament in Benin Republic, will hope to bounce back when they take on Burkina Faso in their next Group B game.
Two teams will advance into the semi-finals from each group, with the two finalists qualifying to represent the WAFU Zone B at the 2023 U-20 AFCON in Egypt.
The 2023 U-20 AFCON will serve as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup billed for Indonesia also to hold next year.
All four semi-finalists from the tournament in Egypt will qualify to represent Africa in Indonesia.
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