2022 World Cup: We didn’t ‘over-respect’ Portugal – Otto Addo
Black Stars coach, Otto Addo, has dismissed assertions that the team over-respected Portugal in their first World Cup clash at Doha’s 974 Stadium.
According to some critics, the team lost their opening Group H game because they were overwhelmed by the caliber of the Portuguese; forcing them to coil into their shells.
But reacting to these concerns, the Black Stars trainer stated in a presser on Sunday that his boys played without any intimidations.
According to him, even though the squad had some inexperienced legs, it did not affect their confidence against the star-studded Portuguese side.
Responding to a question from JoyNews‘ Gary Al-Smith, he said, “I don’t think it’s true. Our players did so well. I don’t think we over respected them”.
He continued, “For me, we showed that we could compete with them, even though we had a lot of inexperienced players.
Some even had their debuts in the last game against Switzerland, but they performed”.
In a match that has been widely described as ‘unfair’, the Black Stars lost by three goals to two against the Portuguese last Thursday, November 24.
After a goalless first half, the Portuguese drew first blood after Ronaldo converted a controversial penalty in the 65th minute.
The lead was soon canceled by Ghanaian skipper, André Dede Ayew in the 73rd minute, after tapping home from a pass by Ajax midfielder, Mohammed Kudus.
But the Portuguese took the lead again and deepened their dominance with goals from João Félix and Rafael Leão in the 78th and 80th minute respectively.
The Stars managed to close the gap with an 89th minute strike from substitute, Osman Bukari, heading home a cross from former Chelsea defender, Baba Rahman.
But this was not enough to stop the team from conceding their first defeat in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the team is poised to make amends in their next match against South Korea.
Addressing the press, coach Otto Addo, said his charges are fired up for their second game in Qatar.
He said says Ghanaians will see a passionate Black Stars team against South Korea on Monday.
Source: Ghana News
