The Black Stars of Ghana are expected to take on Cape Verde today, January 14, 2024 at 8pm (GMT) prompt at the Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Ivory Coast.
This game becomes the second in the group B fixtures of the 2023 TotalEnegies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament after Egypt and Mozambique’s game slated for 5pm GMT earlier in the day.
This is the second time Ghana and Cape Verde are facing each other at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Their only previous meeting saw Ghana win 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2013 edition.
According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), this is Ghana’s 24th appearance in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, the most after Egypt (26) and Côte d’Ivoire (25). The Black Stars won the Africa Cup of Nations in four of their first seven appearances (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) but have won none of their subsequent 16.
Ghana have won only one of their last nine matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (D4 L4), a 2-0 group stage victory against Guinea-Bissau in 2019 but they were knocked out in the group stages of the last AFCON.
However, for their Cape Verde counterparts, this is their fourth appearance at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, with all four taking place since 2013.
Six of their 11 matches at the tournament so far have ended in a draw, with their two wins taking place against Angola in 2013 (2-1) and Ethiopia in 2022 (1-0), both in the group stages.
Cape Verde have qualified from the AFCON group stages on two previous occasions (2013, 2021) but have never won a game in the knockout phase of the competition. They have lost only one of their nine group matches (W2 D6), which was against Burkina Faso in January 2022 (0-1).
Cape Verde have never lost their opening match at a CAF Africa Cup of Nations (W1 D2) as such this is a game most Ghanaians and Cape Verdeans are looking forward to experience as both teams are optimistic of carrying the day.