Black Stars head coach Otto Addo is adamant his team needs to beat Mali in its upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier to stand a chance of qualifying to compete at the next World Cup.
He said this in a pre game presser in Bamako ahead of Ghana’s crucial game against Mali at 19:00 GMT on Thursday, June 6.
The game is the first of two qualifiers Ghana is slated to play in June with the Black Stars set to play against Central African Republic (CAR) at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Monday, June 10.
Ghana ranks fifth in the six team Group I standings in the wake of CAR’s 1-0 win over Chad late on Wednesday, June 5 and Otto Addo did well to pass on the urgency for a win in his speech.
“It’s a very important match for us. We are a point behind Mali and we have to win to give us a chance of qualifying to the World Cup. They have young talent in their team and it will be a very tough game for us tomorrow.”
In his interim role as Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo got Ghana to qualify to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Ghana is coming off two winless international friendlies since Addo got appointed as a substantive head coach earlier this year.
