Black Star Coach Otto Addo faced, probably, his heaviest backlash for substituting Dede Ayew and Kudus Mohammed in Ghana’s 3-2 loss to Portugal in the opening Group H match of the 2022 World Cup.
Minutes after combining perfectly to grab an equalizer for Ghana, Ayew and Mohammed were substituted for Jordan Ayew and Osman Bukari, respectively.
But the celebration was short-lived as Portugal scored two quick goals to restore their lead, a circumstance that most Ghanaians blamed on Coach Addo.
“It was a tactical change, he had a yellow card. I was a little bit afraid that he couldn’t go into the duels how I wanted him to,” Coach Addo said at the post match press conference. “So I took him off to bring in a fresh player. This was the reason.
“I don’t think it had a big impact because, at that moment, it was 1-1. The game was hectic, we made a few mistakes which allowed the second and third goals [to be scored]. We had to close the lines,” he added.
Despite offering clarification, Coach Otto Addo has been heavily criticized for his decision, which came as a surprise to many.
He will however get a second chance on Monday when the Black Stars get to play against South Korea.
