Acting Black Stars skipper, Andre Morgan Rami Ayew, has predicted Ghana's qualification to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after today's dicey qualifier against the Cranes of Uganda at the spacious Mandela National Stadium in Kampala at 4p.m. local time (lp.m. Ghana time).
Standing in as the Stars' skipper for the first time, in the absence of the injured substantive captain, Dede declared at a press conference yesterday: "We know it's going to be a difficult game but we are here to make our nation smile and get victory to qualify".
"We the players want to get qualification and go and celebrate with our fans at home against Togo on Wednesday," he assured.
While envisaging a tough opposition from the Ugandans who need victory badly to stay in contention in Group E, Dede, however, noted that the pressure would be on the Cranes who would be expected to get a good result in front of their hungry home fans in this crucial game.
He bemoaned the absence of the skipper, Kwadwo Asamoah and Jordan Ayew whom he described as being influential in the team but stressed that "everybody is ready to play and prove himself."
He emphasised that the Stars' focus was to play and achieve their aim of qualifying collectively without thinking of personal interests.
Coach Maxwell Konadu also confessed how close the game would be as was the case in previous clashes between the two teams but insisted that "my boys are ready to make Ghanaians smile."
"We know if they don't win they can't qualify, so they will try to get a win. They are a good side but we are ready for the challenge so the fans should come and see a good game," a confident-looking Konadu affirmed after his team's final workout at the match venue.
"Qualifying tomorrow will be one of my happiest moments; we want to qualify here to make the Tamale game a mere formality," he revealed.
Apart from the injured substantive skipper who trained with his teammates briefly before resorting some jogging and sprinting later, the Stars caretaker coach has a solid 23-man squad to choose from to perform the coup de grace today.
Based on yesterday's training, it will not be surprising to see debutante Emmanuel Banahene partner Abdul Majeed Waris in attack, while Fatau Dauda could also make a sudden return into the post.
The other probables are Harrison Afful, Baba Abdul Rahman, Jonathan Mensah, Mohammed Awal, Rabiu Mohammed, Solomon Asante, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and and Dede Ayew.
Meanwhile, Uganda's Serbian trainer, Milutin SredojeviC, has not hidden his intention to reshuffle his team by fielding as many as seven foreign-based players in order to get the needed result against Ghana.
This became evident during the Cranes' final training session at the match venue yesterday morning.
