Ghana national team manager Chris Hughton stated that home advantage was key in Mexico’s 2-0 friendly win over the Black Stars in Charlotte in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Goals from Hirving Lozano and Uriel Antuna were more than enough to give El Tri the victory and Hughton acknowledged the North American giants were always going to be a tough opposition for his side.
He however asserted that his team still had some good moments in the game.
“I think we knew we were up against a very good Mexican team playing at home on a surface that they are used to so we knew it was going to be a tough opposition,” the former Newcastle United manager said.
“I thought in the first half period we coped well even though we didn’t create the amount of chances that we would have liked to have done but I think we had reasonable good control of the game.”
Not the result we wanted, we go again on Tuesday! ????????????????#BlackStars pic.twitter.com/xBA9mR3E9l
— ???????? Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) October 15, 2023
Hughton also weighed in the outcome of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations group stage draw where Ghana have been paired in Group B with Egypt, Mozambique and Cape Verde. The Black Stars had a disappointing outing in Cameroon last time out where they finished bottom of their group with a solitary point and Hughton wants to move past that and focus on what will be ahead in the Ivory Coast come January next year.
“Egypt are a very experienced side, very experienced AFCON campaigners and I think they have more wins than any other country,” Hughton said as per the CAF website.
“For sure, they are very tough opposition. But of course it is a competition and we are looking forward to playing one of the best teams on the continent.
“Cape Verde and Mozambique are two teams I don’t know so much about. However, we will do our homework over the coming months and watch their games before the tournament starts.
“There is no pressure relating to the past. The pressure is we want to do the best we can after the last disappointing campaign.
“We know it was disappointing in the last campaign but that’s in the past. We must prepare ourselves the best way we can to come out of the group.”
Ghana will take on the United States in another friendly in Nashville in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
