1. Ghana continues to struggle against minnows
Ghana has been struggling against Grad C teams on the continent for a while and it is becoming unacceptable. Ghana has failed to beat Comoros, Namibia, Cape Verde and Mozambique since last year. What has happened? These are opponents that Ghana must beat comfortably but rather have struggled to deal with them. It is 7 games now since Ghana won a game. Otto Addo’s first two games didn’t impress many as the same old Ghana was witnessed. Many will hope that in June, Black Stars will not disappoint Ghanaians.
2. Jordan Ayew proving to be Ghana’s main striker
Crystal Palace’s forward Jordan Ayew has been scoring all the goals for Ghana recently. In Ghana’s make-or-break MD3 fixture against Mozambique in the 2023 AFCON, Jordan Ayew scored Ghana’s two goals from the spot although the goals were not enough to guarantee Ghana the needed 3 points to progress to the Knockout Phase of the competition. In Ghana’s 2-1 defeat on Friday in Marrakech against their eternal rivals, Nigeria, it was Jordan Ayew who calmly converted a spot kick late in the additional minutes to reduce the deficit. In the 2-2 draw against Uganda on Tuesday, Jordan scored and assisted Jordan Opoku to secure a 2-2 draw for Ghana. He has scored 4 goals in his last 3 games for Ghana. Many Ghanaians hope he will show this kind of form in June against Mali in Bamako.
3. Ghana’s goalkeeping position is still up for grabs
One of the positions Otto will struggle to get a decent player for is the goalkeeping department. In Otto Addo’s call-up to face Nigeria and Uganda, Joe Wallacott, Ati Zigi and Fredrick Asare were the keepers as Ati Zigi got the nod against Nigeria and Joe Wollacott also got the opportunity against Uganda. Fred Asare of Asante Kotoko did not get the opportunity to prove himself. Ati Zigi conceded two goals against Nigeria while Wollacott conceded two against against Uganda today. Otto Addo selected Ati Zigi during the 2022 FIFA World Cup but he might not be his number one again. Joe Wollacot is not getting game time in Hibernian and he still panics in post for Ghana. Medeama’s Felix Kyei must also be given the chance to prove his worth because he is one of the few high-spec goalkeepers for Ghana. Otto Addo’s number one goalkeeper is not decided yet hence all the goalkeepers have the chance to steal the spot. Wollacotts’ audition today in Morocco was not satisfactory.
4. Otto Addo is still yet to tactically convince Ghanaians
The 48-year-old former Dortmund midfielder replaced Milovan Rajevac after the 2021 AFCON. He expertly eliminated Nigeria to send Ghana to the 2022 World Cup on away goal rule. Otto Addo won against South Korea and lost to Portugal and Uruguay in the World Cup. This is not anything better because Otto Addo has not delivered against the top opposition he has faced. His next test is a must-win game in Bamako and he must seize the opportunity to convince Ghanaians that he is capable of doing the job.
Although most of his top players were out against Uganda, Addo’s plan and tactics for Uganda were questionable.
5. Ghana’s defence must be addressed before the Bamako trip
10 goals have been conceded in the last 5 games by Ghana with each opponent scoring twice. Cape Verde, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda have all found it easy to score against the Black Stars. Ghana’s full-back positions have not been excellent for more than a year and against Uganda, much was not seen from the full-backs. Salisu and Djiku’s partnership conceded 6 goals in Ivory Coast. Jerome Opoku and Edmund Addo’s partnership must not be considered in the trip to Mali as it is so poor. Otto Addo has a huge job at hand because his goalkeeping position is yelling for a better goalkeeper, his defence is so awful and the attack can’t continue to rely on Jordan alone.
