Mali coach Tom Saintfiet has sought to turn up the psychological heat on Ghana ahead of Monday’s World Cup qualifier in Accra, dismissing concerns about pitch conditions and suggesting excuses belong elsewhere.
In a thinly veiled swipe at Black Stars boss Otto Addo, who blamed the poor surface in N’Djamena for Ghana’s 1-1 draw with Chad, Saintfiet insisted playing fields cannot be used as a pretext for failure.
“I am not the kind of coach who talks about pitches and circumstances,” the Belgian said at his pre-match press conference. “The pitch is for both teams, the same level…pitches have no influence, we have no influence on pitches. We will play tomorrow on any pitch and we will play a good game with our potential.”
Addo had described the turf in Chad as “like concrete” and later argued that Ghana’s inability to play with speed stemmed from the surface not being watered.
However, Saintfiet by contrast, downplayed such factors, effectively framing the showdown as one that will be decided by quality and mentality rather than environment.
Kick-off for the nerve cracker at the Accra Sports Stadium is at 19:00 GMT, with Group I finely balanced and both sides knowing a win could tilt the qualifying race decisively.
By: Pascal Amoah
