The Black Stars received inspiring words of encouragement from the Asantehene Otumfour Osei Tutu II on Wednesday evening after holding their penultimate training session ahead of Friday’s clash against Zambia.
The visit of revered Ashanti King originally scheduled for Thursday was brought forward due to changes in the official itinerary of His Royal Highness.
The Asantehene sat through the evening session at the Baba Yara Stadium hours after the Black Stars arrived in Kumasi from Accra to finalize preparations towards Friday’s match against the Chipolopolo.
All the other 24 players completed the session under the watchful eye of coach Akwasi Appiah in the presence of a half-packed stadium.
The players and officials then took turns to greet the Asantehene after the session with the great King responding with words of encouragement for the team.
“You have to show that you are a better team than Zambia which indeed we know you are.
“I believe if you work as a team with total devotion we will win by 4-0.
“Just remember you are a team and therefore you need to work as a unit. Play for each other and I am sure at the end of the day everyone will be happy.â€
The Black Stars had landed in Kumasi earlier in the day to an overwhelming reception at the airport.
The team will hold their final training session ahead of Friday’s match on Thursday evening.
Ghana only needs a draw to progress in the qualifiers but the Black Stars are determined to secure a resounding win over Zambia to atone for recent defeats suffered at the hands of the Chipolopolo.