Former international Nii Lamptey has expressed fears that a bribery allegation levelled against Ghana coach Sellas Tetteh could well affect the team at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, which kicks off Thursday in Cairo, Egypt.

The African champions have been hit by an allegation of bribery against Tetteh by Benfica winger Ishmael Yartey, who was dropped from the squad to travel to Egypt.

"Let us not pretend and think that the allegation won’t affect the coach," Lamptey told soccernet.com.

"You go into a big tournament like this, and with only few weeks or days for the competition to begin, all [these] bribery allegations start coming up in the team - it doesn't auger well for motivation and confidence in the team.

"But Tetteh is tried and tested and I am confident that he will be able to put that behind him and guide the team through the tournament.

"When James Bissue was dropped, he called me and I told him not to speak to anybody until after the tournament because you say something and the next time, it will worry you.''

He added, "He didn’t tell me anything about what has been making rounds. I am sure the team will do very well and need the support of every Ghanaian."

The Black Satellites will tackle Uzbekistan in their opening encounter on Saturday before engaging England and Uruguay.