Black stars midfielder Emmanuel Lomotey, has expressed concerns about the possible threat of Ghana’s Group C opponents the Atlas Lions of Morocco ahead of  two sides’ meeting at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon.

Ghana will play Morocco in the opening game after being drawn together in Group C, which also features Gabon and the Comoros Island.

It will be their second meeting in six months following a meeting in June where Morocco walked away with a 1-0 victory in a friendly fixture.

“I’m very optimistic Ghana can qualify from Group C because of the quality of the Black Stars,” Lomotey, who plays club football for French Ligue 2 side Amiens, told Onua FM. “I know Morocco can be our major obstacle, but we can triumph over them.

“Recently, we played a friendly game with Morocco, so we know their style of play,” he added. “So, I believe we can beat Morocco and qualify from the group stages as well.

“I was monitoring the Afcon 2021 draw with Nicolas Opoku and I told him the group Ghana find itself in is a good one and we must qualify. We shouldn’t underestimate any opponent in Ghana’s group.”

“Our target is to win the next Afcon,” Lomotey continued. “We know Ghanaians are expecting us to bring the trophy home and we will do our possible best to secure that.”

Ghana has failed to win an AFCON trophy since defeating Libya on penalties to win the 1982 showpiece for the fourth title.

The Tournament will will take place from 9 January to 6 February 2022.