2013 Afcon: We're not in South Africa to play 3rd and 4th place - John Paintsil

Feb 5, 2013 3:54:00 PM

The experience defender claims the Black Stars are ready to knock off the Stallions for a final place at Soccer City

Ghana defender John Paintsil has served notice the Black Stars are not interested in playing in another third and fourth place playoff hence will put in a great deal of effort to triumph over Burkina Faso.

The four-time African champions will square off with the Stallions on Wednesday in a semi-final clash at the Mbombela Stadium of Nelspruit.

The Hapoel Tel Aviv guardsman, who will be making his 89th appearance for the senior national team said the playing body has vowed not to repeat last year’s mistakes which saw them placing fourth against Mali in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

“Going into this game we know how challenging it can be and myself and the players are up for it,” the former West Ham player said at a pre-match press conference.

“We did not travel all the way from our various clubs to play in the 3rd and 4th place so we are going to give 100% on the field to make sure we qualify to the final and hopefully win the ultimate.”

Inside Goal.Com

Player Ratings: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Brest
Goal.com takes a closer look at the men involved in PSG's last home game of the season, with David Beckham taking all the focus as he wore the captain's armband
Kicking hooliganism out, the football fan's role

Following a series of crowd troubles that ensued at some Ghana Premier League centres a few days ago, Goal analyses the causes and how fans can help eliminate this menace
Player Ratings: Sampdoria 3-2 Juventus
Goal.com was on hand to cast a judgmental eye on proceedings as Sampdoria recorded a memorable victory over champions Juventus, despite the best efforts of Fabio Quagliarella
...And guess who is the Ghana Player of the Week
Join us in saluting another Ghana player worthy of recognition for his outstanding performance this week
Who is the greatest Champions League striker ever?

Enter our competition now and you will be in with a chance of winning one of four replica football shirts. Simply pick your favourite and subscribe to our YouTube channel