Black Queens forward Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah says the team will go into Tuesday’s historic friendly against England with respect but absolutely no fear.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Boye-Hlorkah was calm, confident and clear about Ghana’s mindset heading into the high-profile clash.
“We can respect the opponent, but at the same time we need to be ourselves. We are the Black Queens, and we need to do our things,” she said.
“If we do that, I think people will see our performance and our game in a positive way.”
The former Everton and London City Lionesses forward said the squad is buzzing with excitement, stressing that the mood is one of belief, not intimidation.
“We’re excited to play this game. We believe in our own qualities. You’ve mentioned a couple of countries there, but none of those countries are Ghana,” she said, responding to comparisons with other teams that have faced England recently.
“We haven’t played England before, so it’s the first time the two nations are meeting and we back ourselves.”
Boye-Hlorkah emphasized that the Black Queens’ biggest strength is their identity and unity.
“We enjoy the football that we play. And we know that when we play our football, we can be a force against any team, any country we come up against.”
She dismissed any suggestion of nerves, insisting the team is fully prepared mentally.
“There’s no fear whatsoever within our camp. We believe in ourselves, and we’ll see the performance we put out tomorrow. We play our best football when we believe in ourselves,” she said. “It’s an amazing occasion for us all.”
The Black Queens face the Lionesses today, December 2 at 7:00 PM at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton.
