Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu has said that the Ghanaian national side are determined to win the African Cup of Nations this summer and thereby end their three decade-long wait for a major trophy. The West African side have had a string of talented players over the years but they have not been able to cross the ultimate hurdle in the quest for silverware.
Speaking to reporters, Atsu acknowledged that there has been frustration over the failure of the recent generation but the players remain confident that they can secure the African Cup of Nations title after a 37-year wait, he said: “The trophy is always our target. We understand the frustrations that the Black Stars have taken Ghanaians through. This time we will surely bring the trophy to Ghana. I believe this time we will make Ghanaians happy and we want them to support the team because the players are also frustrated that this generation has not won anything for the country. The fans have done enough to deserve a trophy so this African Cup of Nations is for them.”
Ghana international Christian Atsu has acknowledged that it is difficult to stop Mohamed Salah in his stride with the form he has been exhibiting over the past 18 months. The Egypt international was the standout performer for the Reds last term with 32 goals and 10 assists in the top-flight and he has continued with the same vein of form this season with 13 goals and seven assists during the first half of the season.
Among those, he contributed a goal and an assist in the recent 4-0 thumping of Newcastle United and speaking after that game, Atsu highlighted that it is tedious to restrict the threat from Salah with the ‘very good’ players around him, he said: “It's difficult to stop him as he's a great player plus very good players around him. For him when you have those players around you things become easy. To try to stop him is difficult but you have to make sure you stop all of them and not focus on one player.If you look at their results if Salah doesn't score, Mane scores or Firmino or somebody else.”
