World Cup (Q): “Otto Addo needs support in final qualifying matches” – Agyemang Badu

Former Ghana midfielder, Emmanuel Agyemang Badu believes that head coach of the senior male team, Otto Addo knows his job and must be allowed some space to work.

Badu made these assertions following Ghana’s struggle to beat Mali in match day 8 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The Black Stars were saved by Alexander Djiku’s scrappy second half goal to stretch their lead in Group I to 19 points – three above second placed Madagascar.

“He [Otto Addo] knows the kind of players he needs in every game [and] you know the coaches are very smart and they know the kind of players they need in every aspect of the game or the players they need to call,” Agyemang Badu told Radio Gold.

“So if in one or two games some local players are not in, it’s not a problem at all, we just need to focus and see how we can qualify.

“Apart from that, there is consistency in the selection. The national team selection is very different and crucial and you only meet three days before a game so if you don’t have consistency and you keep changing the players, that is where you have imbalance in the team but for now in our past games there has been consistency in the team.

“They players know the terrain, the culture and themselves and the demand of our fans so there will not be problems at all.”

The four time African champions are chasing their fifth World Cup appearance after making three consecutive entrances in 2006, 2010 and the 2014 editions. The Black Stars missed the 2028 edition before returning in 2022 in Qatar where they exited in the group stage.

Their next two games are in October where they will travel to the Central Africa Republic before hosting Comoros in the final qualifier.

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