Sulley Muntari says Ghana would have to maintain its winning form at the on-going African Cup of Nations as the Black Stars are now a game away from a final berth.
Ghana pulled a fourth win in the tournament that secured them a semi-final place after a 2-1 win over regional revivals, Nigeria at the Ohene Djan Stadium on Sunday.
The Black Stars fought back from a goal down to draw level before the interval and went on to win the game despite playing with ten men for a greater part of the second half.
Muntari, who was voted the Most Valuable Player in the game against Nigeria says Ghana can only think about a place in the final after having finished its semi-final match on Thursday.
“We need to keep on winning.
“We have another game to play in the semi-final then we can start thinking about the finals. We have to think about the up-coming game first,” Sulley said.
Sulley says the Black Stars would play any team that comes up.
“We are ready to play anyone. If you want to win this trophy, you have to be ready to face anyone. They (Ivory Coast) are the favourites but if you want to win, you have to face everyone and play,” says the Ghana midfielder.
Ghana has enjoyed massive support from the home fans since the start of the tournament and that according to Muntari has helped them on the field of play.
“They (fans) have helped us a lot. It’s fantastic. We can’t describe it. We just have to thank them (fans) for coming and cheering us up and we would try our best not let them down.”
Beating Nigeria in the quarter-final has raised the title expectations of the fans but Sulley Muntari says the team is focused on the next game rather.
“It’s too early to say but we are on our way,” he said.
The Black Stars would play Thursday’s semi-final without captain, John Mensah after he was shown the red card in the second half of the game against Nigeria as Sulley describes Sunday’s match as incredible and says it was a big blow to lose the defender.
“It was an incredible game that we had because Nigeria is not a weak side to play and to win them with ten players.
"When John was sent off we came together and held some talks. We knew our captain was out and we had big responsibilities on our shoulders because everyone (fans) was depending on us to do well. We couldn't lose this match.
“It’s a big blow but we would try our best to go in and play without him and hopefully, we would win that game too.”
The midfielder picked up his first individual award, the Most Valuable Player prize for his performance against Nigeria. But he says it was a team effort.
“I didn’t win it by myself. We (players) all did. The most important thing that we got was the win when we were down to ten men,” Sulley said.