Ghana Black Stars coach Otto Addo belives his side has an opportunity to upset their opponents South Korea when they meet on Monday in what is a must win game for his side no matter the outcome of Portugal and Uruguay.
While South Korea held Uruguay to a 0-0 draw Thursday to start their World Cup journey, Ghana lost to Portugal 3-2 the same day. All five goals were scored in the final 30 minutes of the match, with Ghana’s defense being exposed after a tightly-played first half.
Addo refused to go into details about his plans against South Korea but said his players took valuable lessons from the opening loss.
“I am happy to have a team which is willing to learn and work hard every day to get better,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for South Korea, but we know we can compete with them.”
Portugal sit atop Group H, but the three other teams will also be battling for spots in the knockouts. Addo sees a wide-open group with some dogfights on the horizon.
“Anything is possible. It’s an equal group,” he said. “There might be some surprises.”
Otto Addo also took the opportuity at the press conference to apologise to FIFA for his remarks about referee Ismail Elfath when he accused him of “gifting: Cristiano Ronaldo a penalty
” I want to take this opportunity to apologise for my remarks on the referee who was in charge of our game with Portugal.It was an emotional moment and i never intended to be malicious i therefore withdraw my remarks “he said.
Defender Daniel Amartey was also optimistic of good results in their game as he urged his team mates to give 100% during the match.
“South Korea are a good side but we want nothing short of a win considering the tough group permutations.We are prepared and we have been listening to the coach instructions we hope to come out victorious and play better than we did against Portugal”.
Meanwhile the showdown between Ghana and South Korea will be a reunion between Ghana head coach Otto Addo and South Korean captain Son Heung-min.
Addo coached Son at Hamburger SV’s youth academy when the South Korean star was just a teenager in 2009. Son has since evolved into one of the world’s top players, with the Premier League Golden Boot in tow, and he will now try to captain South Korea past Ghana in their Group H match Monday.
At his official prematch press conference Sunday, Addo said he’d be happy to see Son do well, as long as he doesn’t inflict damage on Ghana.
“I always wish him all the best, except tomorrow,” Addo said at the Main Media Centre in Al Rayyan, just west of Doha. “I am happy he’s healthy again (after suffering facial fractures). We will try to stop him as a team. It’s always about closing gaps as a team.”
Addo said he predicted good things for Son down the road while he was a teenager and recommended him to Hamburger’s first squad because of that bright future.
“Son is a very, very good player operating between the lines, and he has a very good shot,” Son said. “He has very good characters. He’s very, very disciplined. He became so good because he worked hard for it.”
Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com
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