Senegal and Bayern Munich winger, Sadio Mane, has identified Ghana as one of the top contenders to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast next year.

Mane, who was part of the 2021 AFCON-winning team, believes that alongside Egypt, Morocco, and Cameroon, the Black Stars have a strong chance of clinching the title.

Although Ghana is still working towards securing qualification for the tournament following a draw with Madagascar in the penultimate AFCON qualifier, Egypt, Morocco, and Cameroon have already secured their places in the competition scheduled for January.

“The AFCON is full of surprises, but we know the usual best teams like the hosts, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Algeria and Cameroon," he said, as quoted by Joueurs Cameronais.

The Black Stars have struggled in recent times, getting eliminated at the group stage of their last two tournaments.

The team failed to progress beyond the group stage of the last AFCON with Morocco, Gabon and Comoros advancing ahead of the four-time African champions.

At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ghana finished bottom of their group with Portugal and South Korea progressing to the round of 16, as reported by nbcwashington.com.

Black Meteors arrive after AFCON disappointment

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that The Black Meteors of Ghana have finally arrived home in Accra after a disappointing U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Ghana failed to secure one of the tickets to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after exiting the tournament at the group stage.

Following the 1-1 draw against Guinea in their final group game, the Black Meteors finished third in Group A and were beaten to the semi-final spot on goal difference.

Badu unhappy with Ghana football

Former Black Stars midfielder, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has been lamenting over the state of Ghanaian football following the Black Meteors' AFCON U-23 exit.

The Ghana U23 team were eliminated from the tournament in Morocco at the group stage, and will not qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

This is the third time in a little over a year that a Ghanaian national team has failed to progress beyond the first round of an international competition.