Chris Hughton has attributed Ghana’s defeat to Mexico in an international friendly to the latter’s familiarity with the playing surface at Bank of America Stadium.
This loss marks the first defeat for Ghana under Hughton’s leadership. Hughton acknowledged that Mexico posed a formidable challenge, benefiting from their familiarity with the pitch in Charlotte, USA.
He stated, “We knew we were up against a very good Mexican team playing at home on a surface that they are used to, so we knew it was going to be a tough opposition.”
Hirving Lozano’s goal in the 57th minute gave Mexico the lead, while Uriel Antuna’s goal in the 72nd minute increased their lead and ultimately sealed the victory for the Mexicans. The US men’s soccer team and the Black Stars will play their next match on Wednesday at 12:30 a.m. at Geodis Park in Tennessee.
In the midst of their preparations for an upcoming friendly match against the USA, Hughton has emphasized the need for the team to extract valuable insights from their recent loss to Mexico.
During a post-match interview, the esteemed former Norwich City coach expressed the team’s unwavering determination to avoid concluding the October international break with two consecutive defeats. He underscored the importance of a resolute response from his players in their forthcoming fixture against the USA.
“It is exactly the same message for the players. What we don’t want is to leave this international camp with two poor results,” said Coach Chris Hughton. “The result of that is always you are looking for a reaction from the team in the second game [USA].”
Hughton went on to express his confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back, saying, “If you are able to get the right reaction, which I am quite sure that we will get from the team, then it gives you a better possibility of putting in a performance that can get something out of the game in the second match against the USA.”
Highlighting the importance of learning from their previous encounter, Hughton added, “So what we have to do is learn from the things you didn’t do so well in the first game against Mexico.”
