Okraku called on the team to forget their shootout defeat to Cote d’Ivoire last Tuesday and focus on winning their third place match against South Africa in order to secure qualification into the Olympics.

The national U-23 side are yet to qualify for the Olympics Games after losing on penalties to Côte D’Ivoire in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final match played at the Cairo Stadium last Tuesday.

After last Tuesday’s painful defeat, the GFA President was at the team’s hotel to inspire and reassure the players that all hope was not lost and urged them to psyche themselves for the final battle tomorrow.

“This match is gone. Let’s focus on the next match on Friday and our next opponents. All hope is not lost.

“Our ambition is to qualify to the Olympics. If we fight like we did in the second half (against Côte D’Ivoire) we will make it to the Olympics”, Mr Okraku noted.
He, however, implored the players to remain positive ahead of the third place play off.

“Let’s be positive about Friday and get the conviction that we can do it. This team has gone through battles and people have lost hope. Once again we will give hope back to the entire nation on Friday by securing a ticket to Tokyo”, he reiterated.

Mr Okraku arrived in Cairo last Monday evening and joined the leader of Ghana’s delegation to the U-23 AFCON, Frederick Acheampong, to motivate the team before last Tuesday’s clash with Cote d’Ivoire.

The third place match will kick off at 2:30p.m. at the Cairo International Stadium ahead of the final between hosts, Egypt, and Cote d’Ivoire.