Ghana coach Avram Grant is confident the Black Stars will qualify for the 2018 World Cup despite being held to a goalless draw at home by underdogs Uganda on Friday in Tamale.

The Black Stars were the huge favourites for the match thanks to their pedigree and the fact that they were playing at home in Tamale.

But they failed to make their superiority count as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Uganda in their opening match of Group E of the qualifiers.

Grant's side enjoyed the majority of possession and the clearest chances in Tamale but could not find a way to beat Denis Onyango in the visiting goal.

The former Chelsea manager insists they can still go ahead and qualify despite the shaky start to their qualifiers.

“We have five games to go," Grant said in the post match interview at the Tamale Sports Stadium.

"Even in the [2015] Afcon, we lost the opening game [to Senegal] but we qualified [from the group in the end].

"We have the quality to make it.

“Our group is a tough group, so there won’t be easy games.

"They have got a point here, we can go there and beat them, it’s football.”

A good result for the Black Stars against Egypt in November could be key to their hopes of qualifying for the finals in Russia.

The other two teams in Group E are Congo and Egypt and they meet in Brazzaville on Sunday.