It won’t be easy against Zimbabwe in Harare – Ghana coach Rajevac

Milovan Rajevac has said Ghana won’t have it easy when they come up against Zimbabwe in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

The two teams will square off again on Tuesday in Harare, three days after the Black Stars beat the Warriors impressively in Cape Coast to give Rajevac a winning start in his second stint as Ghana coach.

Saturday’s 3-1 victory kept Ghana in second position and a point behind South Africa in Group G. The Black Stars can overtake Bafana Bafana if they win and the latter drop points at home against Ethiopia later on Tuesday.

“Definitely for us, it is very important and we have our target and we know it is not going to be easy. The first match was also not easy because, in some part of the match, Zimbabwe showed they also have quality,” Rajevac told reporters on Monday ahead of the game.

Mohammed Kudus gave Black Stars an early lead, but Zimbabweans equalised minutes into the second half and threatened to go ahead before Thomas Partey and Andre Ayew got on the scoresheet to secure three points for Ghana in the first meeting.

“In the beginning of the second half, we were facing some difficulties which show there is no easy match and it is important to concentrate throughout the match to try to prepare a good game plan and to reach appropriately in some moment.”

“I have faith and I have confidence in my players and I know they will do their best so we are hoping for the positive result. As I said, this is very important for us so we are trying to be positive all the time and not feel the pressure but confident for the match.”

The Serb added, “I’ve been here for a short time and we are getting to know each other very well and it is difficult to make big changes in this short period of time but I think we are growing and we are improving. In every next match, I suppose we make fewer mistakes and try to improve our performance.

“These players are learning quickly and they are determined because they know what is at stake and so they are aware of the task. We function together and last match, we managed to have a positive result, which is very important. We don’t take time for experiments; we need to have good results and we are all aware of that so we will do our best to make it happen.”

The match will kick off at 1 pm local time.