Preview: Ghana Vs Malawi

It’s the final moments in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, yet Ghana, with one foot in the South Africa finals are not taking anything for granted.

Four-time champions, the Black Stars are closing on a fifth successive appearance in the finals since 2006 courtesy a 2-0 first leg win against Malawi in the final round qualifiers.

Despite leading from the first leg, Kwesi Appiah’s is not looking down on the plight of Malawi, their opponents in Lilongwe on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 GMT.

For Appiah, the first leg win does not suggest that the Flames are out of contention though he strongly believes that the Black Stars are surging towards the finals in South Africa.

“I believe that the most important thing is tuning your players up and making sure that they are in the right frame of mind to perform on a particular day,” Ghana coach, Kwesi Appiah said ahead of the fixture.

“Coaching is not about talking, it’s more about what the players do on the pitch.”

Appiah is approaching the tie with a certain degree of caution but says the hosts are under pressure to open up as the chase the game.

“Automatically, when you are playing away, you play safe at the back and when you playing at home, automatically you will like to open up and that is when if you are not careful, your back maybe weak to concede some goals.

“I believe if they [Malawi] try to attack, they may find themselves in trouble.

“I believe the best way to defend is to attack but in attacking, [you] should be sensible how you attack and defend,” he said.

Ghana, by their own standards, are expected to wrap up qualification and plan ahead for a title chase next year. Some fans expect the Black Stars to stroll to an easy win but Appiah is not taking any chances.

“Ghanaians always love their football and their hearts and mind are behind the Black Stars especially. I will edge them to continue praying and supporting the team.

“They will not let the nation down, they are all eager to get a win and get to South Africa.”