Ghana vs Mali: Otto Addo begins Black Stars rebuilding with crucial Bamako test
Otto Addo’s Black Stars rebuild begins tonight in Bamako.
Despite training for only five days, the Black Stars coach sounded confident in Tuesday’s press conference.
“Surely, I think we are ready for the game. I am very satisfied with how the players understood how we want to play,” he said. “This is going to be a tough match away in Mali but we also have the quality to compete against them although we didn’t have a good AFCON.
“We have the players to get three points from Mali.” He concluded.
His optimism, while encouraging, was strange. Strange because of the current state of affairs.
The players Otto Addo mentioned are not as good as he says at least not in the context of their Black Stars performances.
In 2024, Ghana is yet to win any football match, competitive or friendly.
Ghana started the year with an abysmal 0-0 draw with Namibia in an Africa Cup of Nations preparatory match. At the tournament itself, the Stars lost to Cape Verde (2-1), drew with Egypt (2-2) and drew with Mozambique (2-2).
Post-AFCON 2023, Ghana’s malaise has continued. A 2-1 loss to Nigeria was followed by a 2-2 draw with Uganda in Marrakech. Those were Otto Addo’s first two games in charge.
In the past five years, Ghana has failed to beat teams like Madagascar, Angola, the Central African Republic, and Comoros – twice, first in the 2021 AFCON and last year in the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers.
AFCON-wise, Ghana has won only one match; 2-0 over Guinea Bissau, across the last three tournaments.
Moreover, Ghana has not won a match at the AFCON in a run stretching back to 2019 against Guinea-Bissau.
When Otto Addo announced his squad last week, he reminded Ghanaians that he ought to fix the team’s broken culture, and work ethic, and build cohesiveness.
But for his oath of secrecy, Otto Addo could have explained the extent of the cultural decay in the Black Stars. He kept quiet in keeping to himself. That is a position I am happy to take.
What should not be hidden or downplayed, is the extent of work that needs to be done. Cohesiveness is not forged in a day. Or in five training sessions.
It takes time.
By 2026, Otto Addo would have managed eleven competitive matches as Black Stars coach; the eight remaining World Qualifiers, and three AFCON 2025 group stage games.
At the moment, he has yet to coach a competitive game since returning. The five training sessions are all there is to draw from.
