I am really disappointed, to be honest – Otto Addo on Niger’s draw

Ghana head coach Otto Addo did not hide his frustration following the Black Stars’ 1-1 draw against Niger in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers on Monday.

After the match, Addo criticised his side’s failure to capitalise on their chances and defensive frailties.

“Definitely not, I am not satisfied at all. I am really disappointed, to be honest,” he said.

The senior national team conceded late once again and now finds themselves in a precarious situation in their quest to participate in 11 consecutive AFCON tournaments.

Addo revealed they had worked on protecting their goalposts, but terrible defending let him down.

“We talked, and we trained on set pieces… and the way they defended in the last 10 minutes was really, really bad.

“I think in general, we had the game under control. We allowed sometimes some counter situations where we didn’t close the gaps really well, and then we got the lead. I think from that point things were easier,” he noted.

Despite controlling a chunk of the game, Otto’s boys failed to convert several chances, a factor he believes cost them the victory.

“In the second half, we changed some positions and the buildup and also some restrictions to seize moments for our wingers.

“We had a different setup in the midfield, so it was good.

“In the second half, we controlled them; we created a lot of chances, which we didn’t use. In the end, these kinds of games are like this.

“There are no cheap teams, every team can play, and Niger also did well, especially in their counterattacks. But I am very, very disappointed with the way we allowed our goals,” he said.

The Black Stars will need to find their scoring touch ahead of their crucial match against Sudan.

Ghana, who now sit third in Group F, will need to improve to stay in contention for qualification.