Ghana head coach Otto Addo has accepted full responsibility following the Black Stars’ heavy defeat to Austria in an international friendly on Friday night.
The West African side were hosted at the Ernst Happel Stadium in what was their first of two scheduled friendlies this month. However, the outing ended in disappointment as Ghana were handed a 5-1 thrashing by the European opponents.
The result marks Ghana’s heaviest defeat since 2007, when they suffered a 5-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in another friendly encounter.
Speaking after the game, Addo struck a tone of collective accountability, insisting that both victories and defeats must be owned by the entire team.
“I take full responsibility when we win. I take responsibility. But we are all together. It’s not all about me. When we win, it’s not only about me. It’s also about the team. Everybody in the technical staff, the players,” Addo told the Ghana FA website after the game.
“We all have to take responsibility. Surely, we have to do much better. It’s a matter of the team. If we win, we take responsibility. If we lose, we take responsibility. But it’s about the team.
“It’s a matter of taking responsibility from the team, from our teammates and from the players. The first two goals, surely avoidable.”
Despite the scoreline, the coach pointed to missed opportunities and defensive lapses as key factors behind the defeat.
“It was a very difficult game for us. We had some really good situations where we could have scored. We knew that they are pressing high, and once we win the ball, and we try to get to a striker, who starts with great situations that we had
“And yeah, out of three or four situations, we should have scored one. I think we were more intelligent in certain situations. I know this was a difficult decision. I think one or two could have been a penalty.”
Addo further highlighted avoidable errors, particularly in the build-up to Austria’s goals.
“But this is football, and then at the end, we collect the goal where we must drop earlier to attack the ball better. Unluckily, it got into the hands of Jonas Adjetey, and they got a penalty and scored. But also, before that, I think there was a foul. There was no ball play,” he added.
The Black Stars will now turn their attention to their next assignment, where they face Germany on Monday, March 30 in Stuttgart as they continue preparations for upcoming competitions.
