Black Stars head coach Otto Addo has expressed confidence in his team's ability to prevent goals from long balls as they prepare for their 2025 AFCON qualifier against Angola.
The match is set to take place on Thursday, September 5, at 16:00 GMT at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
In a pre-match press conference, Addo addressed concerns stemming from Ghana's recent 4-3 win over the Central African Republic in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, where the team struggled to defend against long balls, leading to two goals conceded. However, Addo assured that the issue has been addressed during training.
“We had problems with that (conceding from long balls). For me, it’s not particularly easy to work particularly on that because we just had three days of training so it’s not that easy. It’s more about technical things in general, individual tactics which we have to improve and we addressed it and I’m convinced this won’t happen again.”
Despite the absence of regular defensive starter Alexander Djiku, who is sidelined with an injury sustained while playing for Fenerbahce, Addo remains confident in the team's defensive resilience. Ghana will look to secure a strong result in the first leg of the two-legged tie against Angola, aiming to solidify their path to the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.
