Ghana coach Otto Addo eyes improvement after defensive slip-ups

Ghana coach Otto Addo is cautiously optimistic about the team’s future despite defensive concerns in the recent victories in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Ghana emerged victorious in their last two matches against Mali and Central African Republic (CAR) with scores of 2-1 and 4-3 respectively. However, coach Addo acknowledges defensive frailties, particularly evident in the CAR match.

Addo, who was reappointed after Ghana’s underwhelming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations performance, admits he and his staff are reviewing the situation.

“We won, but we know there’s a lot of things we can learn,” Addo said in an exclusive interview with 3Sports. “We had a bad AFCON, so it was difficult to bring the belief back into the squad. And like I said, it’s always easy if we win and if things work out, and, so it was good on how fast they adapted.”

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While acknowledging progress, Addo recognises the gap between Ghana and the top teams. “There’s a lot of potential in the gap to the top,” he said.

“We can have a bright future if we work on weaknesses, especially concession of goals maybe, especially in the game against, in a game at the Bab Yara Stadium against Central African Republic. It’s something that a lot of people have spoken about.”Addo’s 34-month contract, with a potential extension, focuses on rebuilding the team. He has led Ghana out of a seven-game winless run with a comeback victory over Mali and a win against CAR.

These two wins have reignited hope for Ghana’s World Cup qualification chances. They are currently tied with group leaders Comoros at nine points with six qualifiers remaining.