2023 U-23 AFCON: Ghana coach insists his team can cope without Southampton youngster Kamaldeen Suleimana and others

Head Coach of the Black Meteors, Ibrahim Tanko is not worried about the absence of Southampton winger Kamaldeen Suleimana, Ransford Yeboah Königsdörffer and Kwadwo Opoku Mahala.

Kwadwo Opoku of Los Angeles was expected to fly with the team alongside Black Stars duo Kamaldeen and Yeboah for the AFCON. However, Ibrahim Tanko has confirmed that they will not join the team, while Ernest Nuamah is expected to team up with the rest of the team in Morocco.

The West African giants may have been rocked by the withdrawal of these players but the coach insists his squad can cope with their absence.

Speaking ahead of the competition will begins on Saturday, he admitted the trio have some qualities but believes those who remain have not been too badly affected.

“For now I understand Ernest Nuamah is going to join us. The rest will not be able to join so we only have to concentrate on those who are here. We already know Ernest and we’ve played with him during the qualifiers so know he is coming to add some quality to the team. The others were not with us during the qualifiers but we felt they had qualities that could help the team since they are not here we will concentrate on those we played the qualifiers with. We are 100 percent sure that the quality is enough. Let’s hope that we will have all players fit for the tournament.

“For now he is not joining because his team didn’t agree to release him for this tournament. This tournament does not fall within the FIFA international dates so we cannot force the team to release him. For now we know he is not coming and we are focused on the players who are here and we know they can do the job for us.”

The Black Meteors on Wednesday evening arrived in Morocco for the 2023 U23 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). The delegation, which included players, technical staff, and officials, arrived in Rabat on Wednesday evening after a pre-tournament training tour in Cairo.

They will begin their tournament journey on Sunday, June 25, 2023, when they face Congo in their first group stage match.

The match will be played at Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, just one day after the tournament begins.

Following their match against Congo, the Black Meteors will face the tournament hosts, Morocco, in their second group stage match on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, before facing Guinea in the final group.

The primary goal of the Black Meteors is to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris by finishing in the top three at the tournament.