Black Stars head coach Otto Addo says his target in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup finals is to guide Ghana beyond the group stage for first time since 2010.
Ghana officially qualified for next summer’s tournament that will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico after finishing at the summit of group I with 25 points after their 1-0 victory over Comoros in their final group game at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The Black Stars, despite flashes of brilliance exited quite early in the group stage in the last edition in Qatar 2022. They will be making their fifth World Cup appearance in the last six editions and will seek to surpass their previous performance.
Speaking to 3Sports, Otto said “I want to overcome the group stage, but then, from there, it’s difficult to predict, it’s very, very important that we believe in ourselves, we keep the flexibility which we have already, and the players understand what we want to do.”
“This style of play for the long term will give us a lot of chances to go far in that World Cup.” he added.
Having spearheaded Ghana’s qualification to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has repeated that feat by guiding Ghana to the next edition, the German tactician is upbeat about their chances of “going far” in the upcoming tournament.
It’s been fifteen years since Ghana’s sensational performance in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the Black Stars reached the quarterfinals before regrettably missing the chance to becoming the first African country to reach the semifinals.
Maybe, just maybe, this is another opportunity for Otto Addo and his charges to make amends for that cruelty of a defeat that crashed the hopes and dreams of not only Ghanaians but all African across the globe.
