Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has defended the decision to part ways with Otto Addo before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting Ghana could not have gone into the tournament relying “only on God” amid a poor run of results in international friendlies.
Otto Addo was dismissed despite guiding the Black Stars to qualification for the World Cup in North America. The decision followed a disappointing series of friendly results, leading the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to appoint Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz on a short-term contract just two months before the tournament.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Adams rejected suggestions that Addo should have remained in charge because of his role in securing Ghana’s qualification.
“No,” the Minister said when asked whether Ghana should have kept the former coach.
“If you look at the losses that we were suffering in all your friendlies post the qualifications. If you just couldn’t trust only in God, then it means we’re going to the World Cup trusting only in God. No, I don’t think so at all,” he said.
Mr Adams argued that Queiroz’s short tenure showed the team’s potential under a different tactical approach, despite the limited preparation time before the tournament.
“If you watch the strategy of the new coach, Carlos, and you look at our friendlies that we came against Wales, and our performance against Panama, and our performance against England, and even against Croatia, you could see clearly that given much more time, a lot more could have been,” he said.
The Minister highlighted Ghana’s defensive organisation under Queiroz as one of the key improvements during the World Cup campaign.
“It was simply defensive,” he said.
Responding to criticism that the Black Stars adopted an overly defensive approach, popularly described as “parking the bus,” Mr Adams maintained that the tactics were part of the team’s strategy.
“Well, it was also part of the game, and we were stringing passes,” he added.
Under Queiroz, Ghana began their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Panama before holding England to a goalless draw. However, a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in their final group game saw the Black Stars finish third but qualify for the Round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams.
Ghana’s campaign ended at the knockout stage after a narrow 1-0 loss to Colombia.
The Black Stars will now shift focus to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they have been drawn in Group C alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Somalia and The Gambia. The qualification campaign is scheduled to begin in September.
