For Chantelle-Boye Hlorkah, the build-up to Ghana's WAFCON opener has been as much about bond as tactics.
"Those girls were really excited. We've been waiting for it," she said. "We've prepared really well. We had a good time out here last year, so now we're prepared to come back and do our job."
She pointed to the squad's cohesion — on and off the pitch — as the foundation for their confidence.
"We've joined well as a team. We've come together, we've put the training sessions in. As the coach said to a local fitness coach, he's put us through our paces and we're ready to get going."
A year on from her tournament debut, Chantelle admitted the first edition came with "nerves of the unknown," but believes those nerves have been replaced by belief.
"I think we've gelled as a team. We've come together as a family to support that goal."
The message to the squad is straightforward: trust the plan, trust each other, and let opponents worry about breaking Ghana down.
"We focus more on ourselves, and as long as we know that when we play the way we want to play, teams have to break us down," she said. "We go into the game with confidence and we take each game as it comes and see what we can do."
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