Ghana coach, Otto Addo, says he believes strongly in his team and is confident that the Black Stars will get the job done when they face the Super Eagles tonight [Friday] at the Baba Yara Stadium Kumasi.
Ghanaians have been talking tough ahead of the first leg of the all-important Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying playoffs between the Black Stars and the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
In head-to-head meetings between the two rivals, Ghana enjoy the superiority, having so far won 25, drawn 19 and lost 12 in 56 clashes.
Addo spoke to the press on Thursday and he was upbeat about Ghana’s chances of qualifying for Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup at the expense of Nigeria.
Asked if he has been able to build a team that is capable of facing the Nigerian national team despite the short time he has had with the Black Stars, Addo said he was confidence in the quality and ability of his team to get the desired result.
“Well, I know I haven’t spent much time on the job, but that does not mean that I do not trust my tream to do a good job come Friday particularly as every of our players knows what is at stake,” Addo told journalists.
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“Like I said before, we all expect Ghana to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but that won’t be easy as we need to do our best to make it to this tournament.”
Addo added: “The players, the technical team and the Ghana Football Association are committed to this task, we want to make ourselves and nation proud by qualifying for the tournament.
“Matches between Ghana and Nigeria are always difficult, but we believe in our players, our strategies and the unflinching support of all Ghanaians as we go into these two matches.
“I wouldn’t like to sound like a broken record, but also like I previously said, we are Ghana and we have what it takes to come out victorious,” he concluded.
The 46-year old was confirmed as Ghana’s head coach for the two games after the dismissal of Serb, Milovan Rajevac, immediately after the Black Stars’ dismal outing at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The pre-match press conference took place at the Media Centre of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. Thereafter, only the first 15 minutes of the Black Stars training session was open to the press.
By Oluyemi Ogunseyin in Kumasi
14 Comments
Eagles needed a win against Algeria in Algiers to qualify for the World cup. Nothing less than a win and to think of Algeria in Algiers makes the task daunting.
The Eagles went there and won by 5 goals to 2 in Algeria. Eagles always know what to do when they have to do it. SOAR LIKE THE EAGLES THAT DEFEATED ALGERIA IN ALGERIA.
Forget Kumasi and their Jazz, ask them why was there smoke at the stadium when they beat Egypt 6 one? They kept burning stuff throughout the famous win against Egypt. If they like, let them burn their stadium. If Eagles want to win, then no one can stop US.
This is another Reason why Nigeria should have pulled out all the stops to get Victor Moses to these games. The problem with my country is we only see as far as our nose. Victor Moses lives for these kind of games I remember what he did to Algeria and Cameroon in 2018 yet instead we go and waste space on Ahmed Musa. Nawa o
You are a FOOL
We also need Okocha, his scintillating skills will be missing in this game. Okocha lives for these games! ROTFL…. Who did this to us?
I do not know why we are like this, always looking backwards and never forward. You have amazing young talents that are doing well in top 5 leagues in the world, it is Victor Moses who plies his trade in Russia that you are pushing for e.g. VM stats in all his seasons in the EPL never matched what Dennis has achieved in his first season in the EPL. This does not take anything away from VM but please let us move forward. We already have Ighalo and Ahmed Musa in the team for experience, let us not rob another promising young player of a spot in the team.
In the English team now, they have Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Mitchel (Crystal Place), very young players but if it were Naija, what you would be hearing is bring back Wayne Rooney! bring back Michael Owen, France will be saying bring back Matuigi!. “They Live for these games”….lol. It is well, one day, we will see the light.
@Golden Child you see the hypocritical statement in your comment you say in one breathe you don’rt know why we are always looking backwards yet your justification for Musa prolonged unmerited stay in SE is that he did well 6 years ago. now that is why i can’t take you people seriously because you are all a bunch of deluded Hypocrites I will rather have a younger faster deadlier Victor Moses than a finished Musa yes i will INDEED!!!
There is KARMA waiting for you!
The deliberate hate you have for MUSA with a CLEAN and GENEROUS heart. You shall suffer from it IJN. Amen
@Ugo Iwunze, please let us keep it respectful. There is no need for name calling, make your argument and move on. That is what civil people do. I have reiterated countless times that Ahmed Musa is in the team for inspiration/leadership and not for performance. Even in the league AM plays, one can argue that Tony Nwakaeme deserves a place in the team ahead of Musa. For the record, I do not want him in the team but i also understand the importance of leadership in the team. When was the last time Musa started a game for Nigeria? How many times does he even play now?
At times, having someone who has actually won something in the past can impact the team in a positive way, unfortunately, we already have AM and Ighalo in the team for this and as such, i do not think we need another old leg. I was reading own goal report on the SE training and they observed that Ighalo could not keep pace with the young players but the handlers have kept him there because they believe in his goal conversion rate.
LOL!! The same will go to you reagrding Karma.. The deliberate hate you have for Augustine Eguavoen for no reason who has assembled the strongest list of players we have available first SE coach to do that in years barring injury to Wilfred Ndidi and Victor Moses absense for finished Ahmed Musa. this deliberate hate and insult you have for him You will suffer the same In Jesus name Amen!!. as well as your Backstabbing and sabotaging of your country for another country in jesus name
@Golden Child then stop being a hypocrite… and he (Ahmed Musa) deserves no such treatment nothing what so ever, that is backward mentality and to be quite frank the reason Nigeria is always hampered from moving to the next level is because of this primitive backward thinking which no other i repeat no other top country practices such primitive and absurd mentality.. Did he win us World CUp??? was he the best player at any major comepetition we participated in??, Do we have better options than him currently???. Look he has done his best for SE and right now we have better than him he should step aside.
So @MONKEY POST this is where my frustration for Musa comes so as you can see it is for no reason coupled with the fact that a corrupt Quota system mentality government is imposing him on us i guess my frustration is justified so your prayer will back fire. because as for you you own hate is not justified
@Ugo Iwunze, my advice to you is to be measured in your support for the SE, you seem to be very invested. This is for your own health.
It is quite clear to me that you are not a broad thinker and as such, you unwilling to have an understanding view.
If I were coach, I might not pick Ahmed Musa for reasons based on performance. However, I can not discount the importance of having a player that other players respect and look up to. You may judge him on his age and performance but you can not judge him as a human being and on his leadership of the team (The team has been devoid of rancour under his watch). The problem is you have been uni-directional in your appraisal of Musa and blind sided to other qualities he brings to the team.
In a dispensation where NFF is notorious for owing player bonuses and subjecting the team to play on patchy and unkept pitches, having a player who commands the respect of the players is very important (Even outspoken players like Leon all respect him and rightly so because he earned it). Say what you like concerning the man, the SE players respect him and look up to him. He has been to many wars for Nigeria both at the continental and world stages and the young team can benefit from his leadership. Even in sport, there is a mental element to the game no matter your abilities and the right leadership helps put the young minds in the right frame for high performance.
Besides, the man has come out to say that this world cup would be his last swan song with the national team so why can’t we send him forth with dignity? Personally, i think your aversion for Musa stems much deeper. I think it is borne out of frustration with the leadership of the country, Musa is just a scape goat.
#BOB
You are a FOOL!!!
Go Ghana !!! The Eagles won’t fly today.
@Ugo Iwunze
PROVERB 26:2