Black stars are favourites against Niger - Otto Addo

Accra, Ghana - September 9, 2024 - Ghana's Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo, has declared his team as favourites to win their upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Niger, scheduled for Monday, September 9.

Addo's confidence comes on the heels of a disappointing loss to Angola in their opening match at the Baba Yara Stadium last week.

The defeat, he admitted, took a mental toll on both himself and the team.

"Everybody was down," he said in his pre-match interview.

"I think the first part was surely mental. I was down myself after the match, but the next day, I had a lot of positive feedback from friends and family, also from some press people. The press conference after the game showed me that we didn’t play badly. It was a really unlucky game."

However, the Black Stars coach is now focused on the next match, expressing optimism about his team's chances against Niger.

Despite the previous setback, Addo is banking on his team's strengths to secure a vital win in the qualifying campaign.

“This positive sign gave me confidence, and this is the confidence I was trying to give to the team in the last days, and I think it worked quite well,” he explained.

“The guys looked good at the training, and surely there were some things, defensive-wise but also offensive-wise, which we had to work on. We tried to implement it in our training as far as we could.”

“This game, we are surely the favourites, and I am very, very confident that we will win this game,” he stated.

“But in football, anything can happen. We saw it last time against Angola, the way the game looked, I never thought we would lose this game, but now there is no weak opponent.”

He emphasised the need for focus and discipline ahead of Monday’s match, stating that the boys must concentrate on their tasks to ensure victory.

“We have to be focused, we have to be concentrated, we have to do our job. Then the probability that we win is very, very high,” Addo concluded.

Source : Lead News Online