Black Stars coach Otto Addo has defended his decision to delay making substitutions in Ghana’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mali in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Mali made three substitutions before Ghana turned to their bench, giving the visitors fresh energy and control in midfield. Addo responded after the 70th minute, replacing Antoine Semenyo, Jordan Ayew, and Mohammed Kudus with Kamaldeen Sulemana, Joseph Paintsil, and Inaki Williams.
The Eagles later added two more changes of their own before Ghana made the final substitution of the night, as Jerome Opoku came on for the injured goalscorer Alexander Djiku.
Some fans questioned why Ghana’s changes came so late despite visible fatigue among several starters. Addo, however, explained that he wanted to give his key players more time on the pitch, believing they could still influence the game.
“You know, we had our moments, even though we were tired,” he said. “You could see that Kudus to Jordan, they still had their moments when they had the ball, that they could create something. So, we had to wait a little bit. But after 10 minutes to the end, I changed because surely, we have a lot of quality on the bench.”
The coach admitted that while the substitutes added energy, Ghana failed to exploit their counter-attacking opportunities when Mali chased the equaliser fully.
“I think Kamaldeen, Paintsil and Inaki came in well, and if we had used our numerical advantage in our counter situations better, we could have scored a second goal,” he added.
The narrow win took Ghana to 19 points at the top of Group I, leaving them just one victory away from sealing qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
By Enoch Fiifi Forson
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