Somalia coach Yusuf Ali Nour wary of Black Stars quality ahead of AFCON qualifier

Somalia coach Yusuf Ali Nour has acknowledged the quality within the Black Stars squad but insists his side will approach their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with confidence as they seek a positive result against Ghana.

The Ocean Stars face Ghana in their next qualifying fixture after losing 2-0 to the Black Stars in their previous meeting, with Nour admitting that his players must be prepared for a difficult contest.

"We know the Black Atas are a tough team with good players. We are in a deadly group, the only group with two teams that have played at the World Cup but we’ll focus on the task ahead in Insha Allah get the results"

The Somalia coach said his technical team had studied Ghana's strengths and weaknesses and would be looking to improve defensively while making better use of their own opportunities.

"We have seen they have quality players on the field and we have to pay extra attention to the way the danger came last Thursday and put that into action, to try to defend better and to try to capitalise on the opportunities we had."

Nour, however, insisted that his attention was firmly on the upcoming encounter rather than his team's previous results or statistics.

"We are not focused on the last game (and our defensive or goalscoring records) but are rather focusing on tomorrows game and what we can do"

Despite the challenge of competing in a group featuring strong opposition, the coach remains determined to give Somalia their best chance of progressing to the tournament.

"I cannot say we will qualify but we will try our best."

Somalia have frequently played their home matches outside the country, but Nour says the situation has not affected the team's preparations or approach to matches.

"Normally we play out of our country and we have adapted to that. Our focus is on how to make a good game and to try and get results, not where we play."

He also reiterated his respect for Ghana's pedigree, pointing to the experience and quality within the Black Stars squad.

"We know the Ghanaian players and they are tough opponents. We are not denying the team they are and the way they play. They played at the last Word Cup but we will try our best against them tomorrow"