Chris Hughton says the Black Stars have no option but to win against Central African Republic (CAR) if the team is to book a slot at next year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Ghana failed to wrap up early qualification to the continental showpiece after playing out a disappointing stalemate against Madagascar in their penultimate game of the qualifiers.

The Black Stars were held to a 0-0 draw in Antananarivo despite seeing the majority of the ball in the encounter on Sunday.

The draw means Ghana needs a point against CAR to earn qualification to the AFCON which will be played next year.

Speaking after the game, Hughton said: "Our strategy for the next match is to win. We are playing at home. We know we have to get the result and obviously, it’s a game we know the consequences if we don’t win."

"From here, we have a break. The players will have to go back to their clubs and they will start preseason and we will be ready for the game in September. We have some players missing today so hopefully, those players will be available in September.

"We will be going into another difficult game against Central African Republic and we have to win."

Despite the draw, the Black Stars still occupy the top spot in Group E thanks to Angola's 2-1 win over CAR earlier on Saturday, June 17.