Madagascar's head coach, Romuald Rakotondrabe, has hit back at the Ghanaian contingent for writing off his team before their clash in the ongoing 2022 CHAN tournament.

The Madagascans produced the first upset in the ongoing tournament in Algeria after beating the Black Galaxies 2-1 in their maiden appearance in the CHAN.

Romuald Rakotondrabe praised his team for their historic victory in their opening game while hitting out at the Ghanaians and saying that football is played on the pitch.

“I am very proud of my players and what they have produced tonight. They beat the favourites and as I mentioned yesterday, the game of football is played on the pitch and not on paper,” he said this at the post-match conference.

Madagascar plays Morocco next on Thursday, January 19, but the points have been awarded to the Madagascans after the Atlas Lions B team failed to show up for its game against Sudan in the first round of games.

The Black Galaxies, on the other hand, will take on Sudan on Thursday, January 19, 2023.