Interim Black Stars head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has challenged his players to build on their impressive second-half performance after Ghana's 2-0 victory over Somalia in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Black Stars secured their first win of the qualifying campaign at the Essipong Sports Stadium on Thursday, with Jonas Adjei Adjetey and Felix Afena-Gyan finding the net to hand Björkegren a winning start to his tenure.
After a measured first-half display, Ghana raised the tempo after the break, creating a host of scoring opportunities and dominating proceedings against the East African side.
Speaking after the match, the Swedish tactician praised his players for increasing their intensity and entertaining the home supporters.
"It's football, you never know what will happen in Monday's game. Based on how we played in the second half, we raised our intensity, entertained the fans and created good chances," Björkegren said.
The victory ended Ghana's eight-match winless run in AFCON qualifying, stretching back to the previous qualifying campaign and including defeats to Côte d'Ivoire and The Gambia in their opening two Group C matches.
The result also revived the Black Stars' hopes of securing a place at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with Ghana climbing off the bottom of the group standings after collecting their first three points.
Björkegren will now focus on Monday's reverse fixture against Somalia, where another victory would significantly strengthen Ghana's qualification prospects and maintain the momentum generated by Thursday's encouraging performance.
