Ghana coach Charles Akonnor has refused to blame the absence of United Kingdom-based players for the 1-0 defeat 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier defeat to South Africa.
Black Stars were beaten 1-0 on Monday evening, a result that has seen them lose top spot in Group G with Bafana Bafana now leading the group by virtue of the famous win at the FNB stadium.
Akonnor was forced to make changes to the team that beat Ethiopia because a number of his players who play in England returned to their clubs, as South Africa is one of the countries on the red-list of travel restrictions imposed by the UK.
Jordan Ayew, Jeffrey Schlupp, Daniel Amartey, Baba Rahman, Andy Yiadom who all played the first match against Ethiopia did not travel to Johannesburg.
“The covid has affected everybody and we are aware of the situation which is why we had a plan B. Yesterday I was asked the same question and I think FIFA and CAF should have taken charge of this because we are deprived of this advantage and it is not good but then it is no excuse because we came here and did what we could especially in the first half, but we lost,” said Akonnor.
Ghana will now play Zimbabwe in back-to-back fixtures next month.