Ghana duo Baba Rahman and John Boye are hoping to go a step further when the Black Stars play at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon next January.

Baba and Boye started at left-back and in central defense respectively as the four-time African champions slumped to a 9-8 penalty defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the 2015 Afcon in Equatorial Guinea.

With the Black Stars confirmed for the 2017 gathering with a game to spare in the qualifiers, the duo are hoping to make up for last edition’s disappointment.

“Everyone saw the effort we put in at the 2015 Afcon,” Baba told Metro TV.

“This time, we want to go higher than what we did. Ghana is a football nation and that’s what the fans want to see. That’s same for us.

“I want to win the Afcon and play very well at the event. That’s what we [the players] are praying for.”

Boye added: “We have been watching some of the videos of the last final with Cote d’Ivoire, and we say to ourselves ‘this time, it’s for us’.

“We just have to do our homework well. Go out there in 2017 and bring what Ghanaians want – the supporters and even ourselves.”

The 2017 Afcon runs between January 14 and February 5.