Ghana coach Avram Grant praised Bernard Mensah Tuesday after a goal by the debutant gave Ghana a 1-0 victory over Togo in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations warm-up.

"I am happy with his performance, especially his goal," former Chelsea manager Grant said of the 20-year-old midfielder from Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes.

"Bernard is among the players I have been monitoring recently and I promise he will not be our last discovery.

"The match was a good experience and we are satisfied with the outcome," added the coach who guided Ghana to second at the 2015 Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

Mensah struck after 40 minutes at Accra Sports Stadium to win a friendly international dominated by Ghana against opponents lacking several key players.

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor and France-based goalkeeper Kossi Agassa and midfielder Floyd Ayite refused to train regularly with the squad last week and were dropped.

Former African Footballer of the Year Adebayor is the star of the Sparrow Hawks and a consistent source of goals.

But recently appointed Belgian Tom Saintfiet is the latest coach to have trouble with a star recently given compassionate leave by Tottenham to handle family problems.

Record seven-time Cup of Nations title-holders Egypt defeated Malawi 2-1 at Borg El-Arab in another warm-up despite lacking the unavailable stars of leading clubs Al-Ahly and Zamalek.

Ahmed Hassan Mekky tapped the ball into the net on 19 minutes after a defensive blunder and a powerful Mohamed El-Gabbas shot just after half-time doubled the lead .

John Banda halved the deficit midway through the second half of a match staged behind closed doors owing to post-Arab Spring security concerns.

All four teams host qualifiers this weekend with Ghana playing Mauritius in Accra, Togo facing Liberia in Lome, Egypt meeting Tanzania in Borg El-Arab and Malawi tackling Zimbabwe in Blantyre.