Black Stars coach, Otto Addo has emphasized the parity among African teams following the draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ghana, four-time champions, found themselves grouped with Angola, Sudan, and Niger in Group F.
Addo acknowledged Niger's recent struggles in achieving desired results but cautioned against underestimating them, asserting that there are no longer any small teams in African football.
"They don’t have a good record in their last five, six, seven, eight matches. I think they won one, played some draws and lost the other games," the 44-year-old coach remarked to the Ghana FA website.
"But what you can see is that, when they lost they just lost by a lone goal. So it’s going to be tough. All the other teams are finding it tough playing against Niger so it’s going to be tough for us as well. We have to be at our 100% best to beat everyone."
Reflecting on the competitive landscape, Addo highlighted the unpredictability of African football, noting that past AFCON tournaments have seen formidable teams struggle against perceived underdogs.
"There is no small team in Africa at the moment. You saw at the last AFCON that very, very strong and known teams had problems with the so-called unknown teams so it’s going to be tough but I think we have the quality to beat all of them. But it’s going to be close, it’s going to be tough, there are no easy games," he added.
For Ghana, aiming to secure their fifth AFCON title, this campaign led by Otto Addo holds immense significance as they seek to reclaim their status as champions, a feat not achieved since 1982.