GhanaFA

Gyan not looking beyond Sudan

12 years ago
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Competition: 2012 African Nations Cup Qualifier

Teams: Sudan v Ghana

Venue: Khartoum

Date: October 8, 2011

Time: 13:00 GMT [1:00PM local Time]

Asamoah Gyan insists Ghana will not be looking beyond Saturday's African Nations Cup qualifier against Sudan with the Black Stars also billed to play rivals, Nigeria in a friendly three days after.

Qualification to the 2012 finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea remains the Al-Ain striker's number one ambition with Ghana playing their last fixture which will kick off at 13h00 GMT while Swaziland clash with Congo in the other group game.

Ghana's rivalry with Nigeria also attracts lots of attention but Gyan's focus is solely on the Sudan game.

"At this moment my full concentration is on Sudan. After Sudan we will deal with Nigeria," he told mtnfootball.com.

The Black Stars lead on goal difference, despite level on points with the Desert Hawks, 13 points apiece while Congo are on 3 points and Swaziland with no points after five games.

For Gyan, who scored his debut goal in the UAE on Saturday, Ghana will push for a win to earn a place in the finals but he expects a tough game.

"There are no easy games in African football today and Sudan is a very good football country. They were determined that's why they came to Kumasi and held us to the draw. But just like the way they did to us we can also go to their home grounds and cause a major surprise.

"We will have to be tough to be able to succeed in that game because they also want to beat us. I think we are capable of winning in Sudan because we did it before we qualified for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations when we beat them at their own stadium. We are going to fight hard to get our tickets and avoid the mathematics of whether we have qualified or not," he said.

Ghana squad

Goalkeepers: Adam Larsen Kwarasey (Stromgodest), Ernest Sowah (Berekum Chelsea) Daniel Agyei (Liberty Professionals)

Defenders: Massawudu Alhassan (FC Genoa) John Paintsil (Leicester City), Isaac Vorsah (TSG Hoffenheim), John Mensah (Olympique Lyon), Lee Addy (Red Star Belgrade), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege), Yaw Frimpong (Asante Kotoko)

Midfielders: Samuel Inkoom (FC Dnipro), Kwadwo Asamoah, Emmanuel Agyeman-Badu (Udinese), Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan) Anthony Annan (Vitesse Arnhem), Albert Adomah (Bristol City), Abu Mohammed (Stromgodest), Derek Boateng (FC Dnipro) Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (Panathinaikos FC)

Strikers: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Prince Tagoe (Bursaspor) Dominic Adiyiah (Karsiyaka).