Black Stars head coach Otto Addo has expressed confidence ahead of their second match in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Niger.
Ghana is set to face Niger later today at the Stade Municipal de Berkane, with kick-off at 16:00 GMT.
Addo’s squad is aiming to bounce back after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Angola in their opening qualifier at the Baba Yara Stadium last Thursday.
Reflecting on the Angola loss, Addo acknowledged that it impacted the team’s morale.
“Everyone was down,” he revealed in his pre-match interview. “I felt the same way after the match, but the following day, I received a lot of positive feedback from friends, family, and even some press. It made me realize we didn’t play badly—it was just an unlucky game.”
The 45-year-old coach said this feedback helped restore his confidence, and he worked to instill that belief in his players during training sessions in the lead-up to today’s match.
“That positive sign gave me confidence, and I tried to share that with the team over the last few days. It seems to have worked,” Addo said.
He added that the team had worked on both their defensive and offensive play during two training sessions in Morocco and looked sharp going into the critical game against Niger.
“We are the favourites for this match, and I am very confident we will win,” he stated. “But football is unpredictable. We saw that against Angola, where we didn’t expect to lose, but no opponent is weak anymore.”
Addo emphasized the importance of focus and discipline ahead of the match, urging his players to stay concentrated on their tasks to secure the win.
“If we stay focused and do our jobs, our chances of winning are very high,” Addo concluded.
Source: Samuel Ekow Amoasi Appiah
READ ALSO