Publications
Partners
Malabo - Ghana assistant coach Maxwell Konadu believes his side are ready to end their African Nations Cup semi-final hoodoo against hosts Equatorial Guinea on Thursday.
The West African giants have not won the Nations Cup since 1982, despite making the final four in the last four tournaments. They were losing semi-finalists in 2008, 2012 and 2013 and were defeated in the 2010 final by Egypt.
"We can't explain why we haven't taken the title in this time," Konadu told a news conference on Wednesday.
"Football being what it is, sometimes you take your chances, sometimes you don't. We've worked hard to get to this point so now we want to take the opportunity to progress.
"We know what it means to get this far and be knocked and we're working hard so that things go in our favour."
Ghana reached this stage after topping Group C -- dubbed the Group of Death -- before beating Guinea 3-0 in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
After a slow start as Ghana coach, former Chelsea manager Avram Grant has begun to get the side playing his way and Konadu praised the Israeli's preparation.
"We've obviously been to this stage before but the preparation is different this time around. This is why some of us believe we're going to do a good job," he said.
"Avram Grant has brought a different dimension altogether so we believe that this semi-final is going to be different."
Konadu insisted that the team are focusing on Equatorial Guinea and not thinking about lifting the continental title just yet.
"At this stage we're not thinking about cups. This is very, very important. At this stage we're at right now we just have to think about Equatorial Guinea.
"I have had many people calling me, talking about the title, saying that it was already won and that Ghana were champions. I told them that we can't think about that before the final is played. My boss has told me we don't think about cups now."
Ghana meet Equatorial Guinea in the second semi-final on Thursday in Malabo. Ivory Coast face Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday for a place in the final.
