Afcon 2021: Aubameyang set to compound Ghana’s woes

Black Stars of Ghana skipper, Andre Ayew remains overwhelmingly confident that Ghana will reach the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stages despite losing their opening match of the tournament against Morocco on Monday.

The Black Stars will meet a Gabon side on Friday who will be hoping to welcome back Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from his coronavirus diagnosis.

Despite the potential of coming up against the Panthers’ captain—one of the finest African strikers of his generation—Ayew is unwilling to countenance anything other than victory for the Black Stars.

“We are going to go in to win this game and we will do everything to win,” he added. “What’s important is that—at the end of the two games—we’re through to the next round, so that’s what we’ll do.

“We have two games left, and we’re going to qualify.”

Gabon defeated Comoros 1-0 in their opening fixture, with Aaron Boupendza scoring one of the finest goals of the Nations Cup so far with a delightful finish.

While Aubameyang sat out of that meeting, Panthers head coach Patrice Neveu expressed optimism that the striker—who is at odds with his club side Arsenal—will be available for action.