Kim Lars Bjorkegren admitted he is working with a compressed preparation window ahead of Ghana’s Thursday meeting with Somalia in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The interim Black Stars coach said he has done what he can to get ready for his first senior men’s match in charge, but there has been less time than he would have liked.
“Yeah, of course there has been less preparation for me, but I am doing my best,” Bjorkegren said.
Two sessions before Thursday
Ghana have had only two training sessions in camp before the match at Sekondi Sports Stadium in Ghana, and Bjorkegren said another one was still planned before kickoff. He added that he spent time in Europe watching players before camp opened in West Africa and had also spoken with nearly the entire squad by phone.
“I have been around a little bit, in Europe to watch some players. I have tried to connect with more or less all the players by phone, and now they are here in Ghana where we have had two training sessions, and we will have another one,” he said.
The timing matters because Ghana are under pressure in Group C. The four-time African champions are still searching for a permanent head coach, and they enter the doubleheader against Somalia with zero points after two matches.
What the doubleheader means
The first leg is scheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m. local time at Sekondi Sports Stadium. The return leg will be played on Monday at the same Ghanaian venue, giving Ghana back-to-back chances to steady their qualifying campaign without leaving home.
Bjorkegren said the team has already used meetings to settle on the basics of how it wants to play. The focus has been on chance creation, finishing and winning the game, which is exactly the kind of practical approach this situation demands.
“There have been some meetings, of course, where we have discussed how we want to play, how we want to create chances, score goals and how we want to win this game,” he said.
For Ghana, the challenge is clear: make the most of a short buildup and avoid letting the qualifier slip further away. For Bjorkegren, it is an immediate test of how quickly he can organize a team that still needs stability at the top.
