Black Stars of Ghana head coach Chris Hughton says he has no alternative than to defeat the Mambas of Mozambique on Monday, January 22 to book a second-round berth at the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 which is underway in Cote d’Ivoire. Ghana need to beat the Southern African nation at Stade Olympique in Ebimpe to either finish second in Group B or grab one of the four third-placed teams tickets for the round of 16. The Black Stars are in a very critical situation as they encountered the same scenario in 2021 in Cameroon and they couldn't survive following a shocking 3-2 loss to debutants Comoros Island. Hughton insists he is very wary of the situation but he insists his charges are well equipped for victory. We are all aware that this is a situation that we would rather not be in, Ghana coach Chris Hughton told reporters on Sunday. We would rather have more points, and we feel, certainly from the performances and the goals we have conceded, that we should be in a better position, but we are not. The conversation is not difficult. This is a game we have to win, he added Ghana lost 2-1 to Cape Verde in their Group B opener before gifting Egypt two goals as the game with the seven-time AFCON champions ended 2-2. ALSO READ: AFCON 2023: Ghana coach Chris-Hughton defends Bukari after howler against Egypt
