Ex-Ghana defender John Painstil explains Partey's importance to the Black Stars

Former Ghana defender, John Painstil has explained how important Thomas Partey is to the Black Stars team ahead of the final two matches of Group G.

Partey has been ruled out of the match against Ethiopia on Thursday, November 11, 2021, and remains a doubt for the South Africa clash.

However, John Painstil insists his the leadership of Partey, Andre Ayew, and Mohammed Kudus will be crucial for the team.

“Partey, Kamaldeen [Sulemana], [Mohammed] Kudus, and Andre [Ayew] are very crucial to our chances of qualifying for the World Cup. But Milo [coach Milovan Rajevac] will never put pressure on his players,” Paintsil told Goal.

“He will tell his players ‘go and do the job and I will take the responsibility. So if a coach says this to you as a player, what else do you want? He has his ways of calming and motivating his players to do well on the field.

"So, with these mentioned players, they’re experienced enough, they love and enjoy the game.

“What they now need to do is to come together as a team, lock themselves on the pitch, communicate well, and always take the game to the opponent. That will help in these two games coming up.”