BLACK Stars Head, Coach Otto Addo, has praised the team’s strong defensive capabilities and generally impressive performance in their hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Eagles of Mali in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday.
Spartak Moscow’s defender, Alexander Djiku, bundled home an in-swinger from a Jordan Ayew’s corner kick which Malian goalkeeper, Djigui Diarra, missed on the 49th minute.
The victory effectively restored Ghana’s three-point lead at the summit of Group I after Madagascar came level, following their 3-1 win over Chad earlier on Monday.
Ghana thus jumped to 19 points ahead of the final two rounds of fixtures next month against Central African Republic away and Comoros in Ghana.
Speaking after the game, Coach Addo said the team fought well for the victory and deserved to be praised for the way they defended till the end.
“From the beginning, we had some problems. You could see we have a young squad and players who have not often played for the national team. This made them a little nervous, but after 50 minutes, I think we got into the game well,” he said.
According to him, they held on to a deserved draw to halftime and increased the pressure early in the second half before scoring from a set piece.
“After the goal, it was a pure fight, especially in the last 40 minutes of the game. We had some chances to finish the game, but we could not.”
“The game stayed really ‘hot’ after the goal till the last minute. Mali pressured us but they did not really create chances enough; just high balls and shots from 20 to 25 metres which were dealt with by the defence,” he mentioned.
Coach Addo cautioned Ghanaians to take it easy with their qualification expectations, noting that Ghana was not there yet.
“We have a lot of work to do, it’s going to be very difficult, but I think with the right thinking and mentality, we’ll get there.”
“We have to give the same efforts we gave today to beat Central African Republic; if we don’t do this, it’s going to be a big problem.”
On the decision to delay with his substitutions, Coach Addo said even though some players were tired, Mohammed Kudus and Jordan Ayew had their moments when in possession of the ball and could create something.
“So, I had to wait a little; but with 10 minutes to the end, it became very obvious to change.
“I have a lot of quality on the bench. I think Kamal Deen Sulemana, Joseph Painstil, and Inaki Williams came in well, and if we had used our numerical advantage in our counter situations better, we could have scored a second goal,” added.
Coach Otto Addo was full of praise for debutant, Kwasi Sibo, who he described as a warrior throughout the game in midfield in the absence of Elisha Owusu, who was suspended for the game.
“Big congratulations to him. I think he really did well. It is not easy to come from a different environment to fit into the squad, but yeah, he knows a lot of the players already in the team, and he connected well.”
“He is very confident, and I think he did extremely well, especially when you see that this was his first match. I think for the future, things will even get better, and he will be called again after this performance,” he noted.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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