Ghana Football Association Communications Director Henry Asante Twum says the Black Stars have the chance to reverse their poor start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign when they face Somalia twice in five days.
Ghana have lost both of their opening Group C matches, going down 2-0 to Cote d’Ivoire in Bouake before a 4-2 defeat by The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The results leave Ghana bottom of the group without a point and under pressure to collect maximum points from the two meetings with Somalia.
The Black Stars arrived in Takoradi ahead of Thursday’s first match against the Ocean Stars at the Sekondi Sports Stadium. The return fixture is scheduled for Monday, November 16.
Speaking to 3Sports after the team reached the Western Region, Asante Twum accepted that the opening defeats had created disappointment around the team. However, he said the Somalia fixtures offered Ghana the opportunity to start again.
“This is a new chapter. This is a new beginning. We are playing a new opponent. We are playing in a different city for the first time in so many years, in close to two decades,” he said.
Asante Twum believes the players can respond positively to their new surroundings and use the matches to create a memorable occasion for themselves and Ghana’s supporters.
“These players are new to the environment. They want to make history for themselves. They want to have fun. They want to enjoy. They want to win the game,” he added.
Ghana’s return to Takoradi has also raised interest among supporters in the region. Asante Twum hopes that enthusiasm will lead to a full house at the Essipong Sports Stadium for the important encounter.
He pointed to the area’s established football culture and said the team had already seen evidence of that support when it arrived in the city.
“There is a history that people of Takoradi love football, and that’s what we witnessed and experienced at the airport,” he explained.
Ghana will need to win both matches against Somalia if they are to make significant progress in Group C after dropping points in their first two games. Cote d’Ivoire and The Gambia each have six points after winning their opening fixtures.
Despite the difficult beginning, Asante Twum said the team’s attention must now remain on the matches ahead rather than the results already recorded.
“What is gone, nothing can be done about it. It is what it is. But we strongly believe that these two matches ahead give us the opportunity to write another story, to turn our campaign back on track,” he stated.
Ghana’s first meeting with Somalia will take place at the Sekondi Sports Stadium on Thursday, November 12, with kick-off at 3:00 p.m.
