Mr Okudzeto made the call yesterday when he visited the Queens at their La Palm Royal Beach Hotel camp to deliver their per diem ahead of their must-win encounter against the Camerounians.

“You did well in your first match against Algeria which you won and even the one against Mali you did well but tomorrow’s game is the most crucial game for us so we are here to inspire you to go all out and come out successfully.

“In football, definitely there must be a winner and a loser at the end of the game so we are here to motivate you so that in tomorrow’s game you will come out victorious. Although everybody is saying that the Camerounians are a very good side, I want to tell you that you can turn that perception around,” he noted.

“What the whole of Ghana needs is that you must qualify. It is important that our team progresses to the next stage and also to the final. The whole nation is looking up to you that you will do your best to lift the flag of Ghana as high as possible in tomorrow’s game.”

Earlier in the day, the board of directors of the National Sports Authority (NSA), led by its chairman, Mr Kwadwo Baah Agyemang, also met the team and their handlers in a bid to encourage them to take the bull by the horn in today’s duel.

He was accompanied by Dr Beatrice Williams, Richard Quarshie, Nana Yaw Sarkodie, Samuel Arkurts and the acting Director General of the NSA, Majid Bawah.

Addressing the players and team officials, Mr Agyemang said his group was there to motivate the team and let them know that there was nothing they could not acheive in this world with determination.

“You are not novices in the game. You have passed through the processes to become the Black Queens and the honour to represent the nation is in your hands,” he said.

For his part, the head coach of the team, Bashir Hayford, expressed his appreciation to the visitors and declared the team’s readiness to make the country proud.