Ghana head coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren says the Black Stars must take confidence from their 2-0 victory over Somalia and produce another strong performance when the teams meet again on Monday.
Jonas Adjetey headed Ghana in front before Felix Afena-Gyan added a second after the interval, giving the hosts their first win in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Bjorkegren was pleased with Ghana’s improvement after half-time at Sekondi Sports Stadium, although he felt his side could have scored more goals.
“We had a good start to the game and a couple of good chances, of course the penalty, we missed it,” he said. “After that, I felt that we were struggling a little bit. The tempo was pretty low, we used too many touches and gave Somalia a little bit of time.”
The Swedish coach said Ghana finished the opening period positively after Adjetey’s goal, but believed the second half was much more convincing.
“In the second half, I think it’s only one team on the pitch,” Bjorkegren added. “It’s a game that can finish 2-3-4-0, but the most important thing today was the three points, so I’m very happy with them.”
Bjorkegren was also pleased for Adjetey after the defender scored his first international goal, while acknowledging that Ghana had opportunities to extend their advantage.
“We just needed to take maybe a couple of more opportunities and score one or two more goals, but we can’t complain when we win,” he said. “I’m really happy for the boys today, and I’m happy for Jonas.”
The coach attributed some of the drop in tempo during the first half to the heat, but said Ghana must improve their speed of play.
“It’s not that easy to play when it’s hot like this,” he said. “But we can improve in detail, but also have a good tempo on the ball and things like that.”
Ghana will now prepare for Monday’s fixture, with Bjorkegren believing the team will benefit from having faced Somalia once already. He said his side had limited information before Thursday’s match, while Somalia had more knowledge of Ghana.
“I absolutely think that we can do a second good game as well,” he said. “When you have played a team like this, you know them better for sure into the second one.”
Asked whether he could win the coaching position permanently, Bjorkegren said his immediate responsibility was to help Ghana qualify.
“My job is to be here to support Ghana, to be there for the boys, and do my absolute best to win every game,” he said. “I think we can go all the way and qualify for the AFCON. I’m doing my job now, and then we will see what happens after this.”
Bjorkegren added: “I’m pretty sure we can do the same thing here in a few days again.”
