Ghana's Otto Addo delighted with World Cup qualifier victories against Mali and the Central African Republic

Published on: 26 August 2024
Ghana's Otto Addo delighted with World Cup qualifier victories against Mali and the Central African Republic
Otto Addo

Ghana's head coach, Otto Addo, has expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance in their recent FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Ghana secured victories against Mali (2-1) and the Central African Republic (4-3) in June, placing them second in Group I with 9 points, tied with Comoros.

In an interview with FIFA coach Otto Addo acknowledged the challenges of bringing together players from different clubs and cultures. He highlighted the key roles played by captain Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus in conveying his philosophy to the squad.

“It’s always difficult at national level because the boys come from all parts of the world, from different cultures with different philosophies and different ideas. It's very, very difficult to get that together in one week, to share the same ideas of how we should play. But I think we had a good atmosphere, the players tried to adapt and tried to jump into my philosophy, while some already knew me and that made it easier," he said.

"We had some pre-talks with the captain Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus, I flew to them and talked about certain things and what they should bring to the squad and I think they did well in their jobs. I talked to a lot of players on the phone about how things should be and I was really, really happy that we prepared well and delivered in the games.

"They were close and tough matches, but in the end we succeeded and I was very happy with that. It's good for the mentality of the players that they see the discipline, work and effort they put in during those weeks provided a good result,”