Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah says he has learnt valuable lessons after his side came short of expectation against Kenya in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers over the weekend.
The Black Stars lost 1-0 to the Harambee Stars at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.
Ghana however remain top of Group F which is now vastly open with all four teams on three points after Ethiopia also beat Sierra Leone 1-0 on Sunday.
Reflecting on the defeat, an unhappy Appiah said: “On my part, I have learnt a lot about the players. It was important to know what they can do especially the new ones and this game has shown me a lot.
“…the level I was expecting from some of them was not what they showed on the pitch.”
Appiah has come for some bashing for being inconsistent with his squad since his return to the job last year, choosing to chop and change while sidelining some known stars in what he defends to be part of his team building process for the future.
Aside the absence of the Ayew brothers and skipper Asamoah Gyan, the under pressure Ghana gaffer chose to start star players Kwadwo Asamoah and Harrison Afful from the bench on Saturday.
“I don’t play with names; I play with players who will be fit at a particular time. Kwadwo being on bench does not mean he’s not a good player but under circumstances we had to make some players start,”
“When you are building a team, if you don’t give others chance to play, how do you assess them? We shouldn’t look at who can play today only, but also those who can play in 10 years,” Appiah stated.
Ghana at Cameroon 2019
“I still believe that we can qualify. Personally, I know that we will be there next year. It is an unfortunate loss, but you learn from defeat and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes next time,” said Kwasi Appiah.
Ghana will continue the qualifiers with back-to-back games against Sierra Leone next month.
- SportsAfric
