U23 Afcon: Coach Tanko, â€˜relievedâ€™ Owusu shed light on Ghana win over Mali

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The duo shared their thoughts on securing a ticket to the last four of the continental showpiece

Ghana coach Ibrahim Tanko has praised his teamÃ¢Â€Â™s fighting spirit in ThursdayÃ¢Â€Â™s 2-1 triumph over Mali at the Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Egypt.

A Kwabena Owusu double in the matchday three fixture was enough to move the Black Stars second on the table and into the semi-finals.

Third on the table in Group C coming into the fixture, the Black MeteorsÃ¢Â€Â™ qualification was greatly helped by EgyptÃ¢Â€Â™s 2-1 win over Cameroon in the other group game.

Ã¢Â€ÂœFew people expected us to qualify but we kept believing,Ã¢Â€Â Tanko said at the post-match press conference as reported by Cafonline.com.

Ã¢Â€ÂœThanks to my players who had a great character today.Ã¢Â€Â

GhanaÃ¢Â€Â™s big win on Thursday came three days after a disappointing 3-2 loss to Egypt, having held Cameroon to a 1-1 draw in the tournament opener.

For Owusu, who was adjudged Man of the Match, it was certainly a great reprieve to get the two decisive goals following his relegation to the bench for the matchday three fixture owing to underwhelming performances in the opening two games.

Ã¢Â€ÂœI thank our coach for giving me the chance today. We qualified and thatÃ¢Â€Â™s what matters most,Ã¢Â€Â said the Cordoba striker.

Ã¢Â€ÂœNow we will play for one more victory to reach the Olympics.Ã¢Â€Â

Ghana, who are making their debut at the U23 Afcon, will find out the identity of their semi-final opponents on Friday.

The tournament champions, runners-up and bronze-medallists will also be rewarded with tickets to represent Africa at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

2019-11-15 10:00:02

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