Emmanuel Adebayor is back in the Togo squad to play Mali
Togo coach Stephen Keshi and his top striker Emmanuel Adebayor are both prepared for the Hawks must win 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Mali on Friday.
Adebayor is returning to the Togo squad after missing recent games in a row over bonus payments that dates back to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
But the Arsenal striker is happy to return and play for his country once again.
"Coming back home is very important to me, I am Togolese so no matter what happens I have to come back and play for my country because they need me," he said.
"We have an important game against Mali, they have a good team.
"[Mahamadou] Diarra, [Freddi] Kanoute and [Mohamed] Sissoko they have a lot of good players but we are ready for the war, we are going to give it our best and we want to qualify."
Keshi, who helped Togo qualify for the last Nations Cup finals and the 2006 World Cup before being sacked, was upbeat about his team's chances of being in Ghana in January.
"I can't tell you what is going to happen but I can assure the people of Togo that I am going to lead out a solid 18 players," he said.
"The team will give all they have to make sure Togo qualifies for Ghana 2008.
"The boys are ready, they are highly motivated and I'm in no doubt we will win."
Togo must beat Mali if they are to win Group Nine and qualify for the Nations Cup finals, a draw will not be enough because Mali have the superior head-to-head record.
No comments:
Post a Comment