Otto Addo was in front of the cameras at the Accra Sports Stadium the day before we tackle Sudan on Matchday 3 of the TotalEnergies 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
He was thrown a number of questions by the media in attendance, including his thoughts on conceding late goals, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, our recent performances and much more.
Here is everything he had to say:
On preparation towards the game
I think so far we had some good training sessions. Surely we had some injuries, some sicknesses of players where we had to replace players. I’m happy that those who we called could follow up and come quick as possible. So they’re all there now. Yesterday we had a good session and hopefully today as well. It keeps me thinking positive about the game. I’m looking forward to the game, to change things around. And I’m happy that we made it or the GFA made it happen that we could play in Accra.
On assurance that Ghana will win the game
Tomorrow I can be gone, you know, so there’s no assurance for anything in life. But there’s a high probability, I think, that we win. And it comes with preparation, it comes with consciousness. And so, for me, even when I was playing, to get success, it’s always on the other side of fear. You know, so I fear God, but that’s it.
And for me, I’m fearless. And if our players will get or have this attitude and show the passion and they will be fearless, then I’m very, very sure that the probability is high, very high that we win. Nevertheless, and this is also, I think, why we love football, in football anything can happen.
On losing games in crucial moments
I’ve played so many games also as a player and I said it before, (4:20) we played with Borussia Dortmund, we were German champions, and then we played against the fifth division team and then we lost. So I know anything can happen, but the probability that we lose is very, very low, I think. If we do our home works, if we are concentrated, if we play together as a team. And, yeah, I think if the players and those are the most important persons, if they fulfill and work together as a team and fulfill what our plan is and our tactics against Sudan.
On Ati-Zigi conceding in every game
I mean, it’s way too simple to try and point out one player. Way too simple, way too simple. So, I think I said it again, the defence always starts at the attack. And we have to learn, it’s not only the way we defend, but it’s also the way we finish actions. So sometimes we play around too much. And I know that sometimes the spectators, they like it, they love it. If somebody, maybe can come forward, you go back, you put the ball over the other player and everyone will be, hey, hey, hey. But, you know, we don’t go anywhere with this. You know, we have to be straighter, we have to be more effective, and we have to finish our actions. Because one thing which is very, very clear, I strongly believe that Sudan has two chances, offensive transitions and set-pieces. And once we finish our action and we stand with our block, we won’t concede a goal. And the past has shown also that the goals we concede were always like counter-attacks or maybe set-pieces. And this is what we need to avoid.
On Sudan and what they bring
They are very good. They are leading in their group, so it’s not that we should underrate them. They are leading the World Cup group with Senegal and Togo and DR Congo in the group, so it’s not like it’s a cheap team. And all the statistics you’re bringing up from the past, to me, is really irrelevant. Irrelevant, because the times have changed. And you see it everywhere that the so-called small countries, they can beat the so-called bigger countries. So to compare these times maybe when I was playing and now, it’s not fair. And for me, like I said, it’s also irrelevant because we have to look forward, we have to look and see what we can do to win this game, and that’s all.
On complaints about the pitch after Angola defeat
No, we never used it as an excuse. I’m sorry to interrupt you, but we never, and I never said it was because of the pitch. We complained about the pitch after the Mali and Central African Republic match. And surely we were disappointed that it didn’t get better when we came there. But this is maybe like from a thousand details, one detail of a reason, but it’s not the reason why we lost.
On Accra Sports Stadium pitch
Okay, so for us, to be honest, the most important thing is to have water on the pitch so that the ball can go fast. And surely, I mean, even if we don’t want to be, so number one now we have one point, so we need to play forward. There’s no way we cannot play football. And the second thing, and I said it when I started my job, and I think we’re doing it, we’re playing good football. But surely we have to be successful. And, yeah, we have to improve in that. If we see the last match especially, we have to show much more passion, especially also against the ball. So it’s, I mean, to play good football is one part, but there’s another part is how we defend, how we show passion against the ball, how we press, how we are aggressive against the ball, how we coach each other, how we push each other. And there, there’s lots of space for improvement. The pitch is OK. Surely we could be better, but it’s much, much better than the last time when we trained here.
On President Simeon Okraku’s address to the players on Tuesday
So, I think this is the first time maybe it was recorded, but in this job, pressure is one of the principles. It’s not a new situation for me. It was the same when, let’s say, I came here the first time and we played against Nigeria. Also, the President had a talk, because it was a crucial situation, if we could qualify for the World Cup or not. The same thing happened when we played before Mali. So, sometimes it’s good, and I understand the situation is very, very crucial. So, sometimes it’s also good if somebody comes and steps up to back up my words. I’m also talking to the players; my staff is talking to the players about the importance of the game. So, we always try to push each other, and I think it was a good talk. Hopefully, it woke everyone up to show the passion which is needed on the field to win this game.
On absence of some players die to injury and illness
Yeah, we’re always not happy if players which we call are not there. But, to be honest, I don’t use too much time to think about that. We are looking forward, so we are looking for what we can do, what we can influence. If somebody is sick or injured or whatsoever, we are happy that our replacements came in on time, and they’re here to help us. This is what we’re looking at. I’m sorry for the guys. I wish them a speedy recovery, and that’s it.
On expectations from the players tomorrow
Surely it’s not an easy situation, but I think with time in the game, with a good transition on the pitch of the plan, confidence will come. It will help us to win the game. We are trying to prepare the boys as best as possible. The more we know what will happen, the more we know about the solution. The more we concentrate and focus on our solutions during the match, the easier it will be for each and every player to fulfill his performance. I hope that everybody listens well and is focusing on this game, and on his job. Defensively, but also offensively. If we do that and even try to be positive and confident, even if mistakes happen, and mistakes will happen, we will create chances where we don’t score, like in Angola. But we have to push each other again and again and again. At the end, I’m very, very sure we will be rewarded.
On the absence of a key player like Thomas Partey
Surely, this kind of situation happens in football. Football is a team sport. Each team has key players, that’s true, but we don’t rely on one player. And surely, sometimes we as a coach have to rethink, but this is my job. And we have different solutions with how we could play. And we as a staff, we discussed it and I chose one at the end. And I’m very, very sure it will work. And we’re not thinking too much about the players who are not here. It’s more about the players which are here, their qualities, and how we can install them to perform their best performance and to help the team to win.
On who will captain the team against Sudan
Yeah, Kudus will lead the team. I think I said it before, I don’t know. I’m not quite sure that he will be the second captain. And so for this reason, he will have the captaincy. And for us, and I think, I don’t know if I said it before, but it’s about leadership and responsibility. It’s not about having the captaincy. It’s about all the players. And sometimes, and this will take time, I know for sure but for me, having the comparison, let’s say, from Europe or Germany, and Ghana especially, I think there are a lot of things we can change. And I know traditionally, this is good off the pitch, we have a lot of respect, especially for elder players, but on the field, everybody’s equal. And we have to get to, I think this should be the evolution, that we get to a point where, I don’t know, Ibrahim Osman, 18, can tell Iñaki Williams to do more, to push him in a positive way, not in a negative way. We have to get there that no matter what age you are, no matter how old, that you can criticise another player, even if he’s older, but also the understanding from the elder player to take it, to push it. And if you are demanding, it brings pressure on yourself because you can’t just talk and demand something from somebody while you’re not working yourself.
On passion on the field during games
This will elevate the whole team up to another level. And with this passion, even, you can just win games. Maybe you’re not playing good football or whatever, but with passion and with willingness to win and the aggressiveness in the duels, a lot of things can be changed during the game.
On facelift and maintenance of stadiums in Ghana
I don’t know what has been done. I can just talk about Accra because obviously we’re here and they did well. And it’s difficult for me to talk about things which I can’t influence. We can just sometimes address things, but it’s not in my hands to renovate or not to renovate or whatever. I’m happy, like I said before, that we can play this match here. And I think the national team has been playing here for a long time. And I’m happy that we’re here, that we’re at home, that hopefully we get the support from all the spectators. And even sometimes during the game, things can go bad.
On importance of the crowd
The other time against the Central African Republic, we were 2-1 down at halftime. And Kumasi was still supporting us. And this is what I hope for, because we need the support. And we have a lot of young players. And we need the full support of the whole Ghana to win this match.
On Injuries
Today, everybody is training. So I hope that everybody will be ready for tomorrow.
On what happened against Niger
I mean, the danger sometimes in leading is, we had a lot of ball possession, so it was a little bit…I mean, this is the danger part of football. Sometimes you have a lot of ball possession. And even while you’re leading, the opponent is staying behind. And also we were a little bit lethargic, and we didn’t show a lot of passion. And this is… I hope that all the players learn from. There are so many things which I have to think about. But this is also one of the things surely I will address and that is we show the passion and also what I call defensive discipline.
We have to be ready for everything. And there were lots of scenes which we discussed also. I don’t know, we had a meeting two or three days ago. And I showed them the video from the last clip. And there are some things normally we shouldn’t talk about. Which should be basic and surely I will address that because these are basic things. If you don’t have this in the game, you can always concede a goal. And we have to stop this, and I hope this ends. I’m very, very sure actually from the reaction I saw from the players. The understanding that we won’t see this happen again.
On conceding 8 goals in the final 10 minutes
I can only speak about the games where I was the head coach. So it’s difficult for me to take 8 games. It’s difficult to take all the games into conclusion. I think you all saw the games, especially the last two games. And how we conceded the goals. It was very, very unlucky to be honest. But you’re right; it’s a thing of concentration. It’s a thing of, like I said before, pushing each other. And having everyone accountable. And it’s difficult for me as a coach to say, to give these things up on the sidelines. So the boys have to push themselves. They have to be ready themselves to defend every corner. Even if it’s in the last minute or last two minutes, to be responsible for each and every one for his part and his position. And this is what we need to do. We need to talk to each other. We need to have everyone accountable; we need to have a certain defensive discipline to avoid late goals.
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