Ghana coach Otto Addo expressed his disappointment after his team’s 2-1 defeat to Niger in their final Group F match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Monday at the Accra Sports Stadium. While acknowledging that a draw would not have altered Ghana’s fate, he emphasized the potential positive impact it could have had on the team’s morale.
Surely everyone is disappointed, and even if we had played a draw, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
Yes, it would have improved the mood of the country and the energy levels of the players, Addo stated after the match, acknowledging the deep frustration surrounding the team’s early exit from the tournament.
Ghana’s qualification campaign was marked by a series of setbacks and lacklustre performances.
Their campaign began with a narrow 1-0 loss to Angola, and they were only able to secure a single point from a 1-1 draw with Niger.
Further disappointments followed in their encounters with Sudan, leaving Ghana with no wins in six matches.
This disappointing run meant the Black Stars finished bottom of Group F, earning just three points from their six matches.
Angola led the group with 14 points, while Sudan (8 points) and Niger (7 points) followed in second and third, respectively.
Addo, who was appointed as head coach in a bid to rejuvenate the team, admitted that the failure to secure a positive result against Niger was another missed chance to lift the spirits of the team and the nation.
Despite the disappointment, he recognized the importance of maintaining optimism and focusing on the future.
The loss to Niger sealed Ghana’s elimination from the qualification race for the 2025 tournament in Morocco.
For Addo and his squad, it will be a period of reflection as they seek to regroup and address the challenges that led to their early exit.
With a new cycle of competitions on the horizon, Addo and the Black Stars will now aim to learn from their failures and rebuild ahead of future challenges.
