The Black Stars were dreaming of surpassing their previous achievement at the World Cup while being led by one of their own in Addo.
Ghana enjoyed a fairytale run at the 2010 showpiece in South Africa and they became the third African side to reach the quarter-finals after Cameroon and Senegal.
Shortly after being appointed as interim coach in February this year, Addo’s first assignment was to lead the West African giants to the 2022 World Cup finals and that is exactly what he did as he masterminded a win over Nigeria on the away goals rule in the playoff round.
Having been appointed permanent head coach in May this year, the former Black Stars attacking midfielder’s next assignment was to guide his nation to the semi-finals of the biggest sporting event in the world and MTN Ayoba evaluated the team’s performance in the tournament.
Performance evaluation
Addo was brave as the Borussia Dortmund talent coach adopted an attacking approach in Qatar having masterminded an impressive 2-0 win over Switzerland in a friendly match three days before the World Cup started on November 20. The Black Stars were unlucky to have lost 3-2 to Portugal in their thrilling opening Group H encounter on November 24 as the match referee Ismail Elfath made some dubious decisions which were against Ghana.
However, the four-time African champions bounced back to winning ways in style as they claimed a 3-2 win over South Korea with Addo being able to get out the best in Mohammed Kudus on November 28. The Ajax Amsterdam playmaker grabbed a brace to inspire Ghana to a well-deserved victory and he also walked away with the Player of the Match accolade as a reward for his excellent performance against the Asian side.
The Black Stars came into their final group match against Uruguay on December 2, knowing that a draw or win could see them progress to the knockout phase. Addo’s side started very well and they were awarded a penalty, but captain Andre Ayew was denied the spot-kick by goalkeeper Sergio Rochet. Almost immediately at the other end, Uruguay grabbed two quick goals which earned the Sky Blues a 2-0 victory over the Black Stars.
Therefore, Ghana’s hopes of progressing to the Round of 16 ended as they crashed out of the tournament in the group stage. Addo’s tactics against Uruguay were questionable as the 47-year-old tactician played an open game when he needed a draw or a win to advance to the next round. This backfired as the Sky Blues hurt the Black Stars on the counter-attack. Addo got his tactics wrong for this crucial match.
What is next for Ghana?
Addo resigned as the national team coach after the game against Uruguay and he stated that he would focus on his other role at Dortmund. The Ghanaian Football Football (GFA) has begun its search for the new Black Stars coach ahead of next March’s 2023 AFCON qualifiers. Ghana is set to face Angola home and away in the qualifiers and whoever replaces Addo will be tasked with leading the team to the AFCON finals which will be hosted by Ivory Coast.
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