(Reuters) – Interim Ghama manager Otto Addo believes his team can make a significant impact at the World Cup in Qatar as the Black Stars prepare for their fourth finals at the global tournament.
Addo, with no previous senior coaching experience, took charge of Ghana in February after the sacking of Milovan Rajevac following their early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
“We can beat anyone. It’s up to the players, not me. It’s their performances that have brought them this far. They have the quality, with or without me,” Addo told the FIFA website.
“I’m responsible for putting them in the right positions so that they can produce their best performances, with and without the ball. They have to be able to play together.”
Addo, who is combining his role as talent manager at Borussia Dortmund with the national team job, will lead Ghana into their Group H opener against Portugal on Nov. 24 before they face South Korea four days later and Uruguay on Dec. 2.
“We’re going up against three strong opponents and we could lose all three games or win all three. It’s up to us and how we adapt to their playing style, how we stop them, how we work together as a team,” Addo said.
“Every single game is different and the first match will be decisive. The subsequent games depend on the first one. If we lose, we need to be more attacking in the second match, but if not we can set ourselves up differently.”
Ghana will play Uruguay in a rematch of the controversial quarter-final in 2010, which the South Americans won on penalties, stopping them becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
“I’m sure that’ll be in the back of the minds of some players because it was a decisive game, not just for Ghana but for Africa as a whole,” Addo said.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
