Former Nottingham Forest manager and Black Stars of Ghana Technical Advisor Christopher William Gerard Hughton is confident in the squad that will represent Ghana in Qatar in November 2022.
With the tournament in Qatar only 26 days away, curiosity is building both internationally and locally, with many Ghanaians hoping to see the final list revealed by head coach Otto Addo.
Although the team’s performance under Otto Addo has been far from perfect, there is still hope that Ghana may be able to grind out enough results, as they did against Nigeria, to qualify.
Many sports enthusiasts, particularly Patrick Osei Agyemang, better known as Countryman Songo, of the Fire for Fire sports programme on Adom TV, have long bemoaned the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) need to review head coach Otto Addo’s performance since it is in doubt.
The Black Stars do have some recent World Cup success since they are one of just three African teams to reach the quarterfinals.
Despite being a converted penalty kick away from a semi-final position in 2010, they failed to qualify for Russia in 2018.
On October 22nd, 2022, the thrilling editors of www.atspo.com had an excerpt of an interview with the technical advisor for the DailyMail, in which he advised Black Stars supporters to have faith in the squad and the technical team.
The Black Stars’ technical team is structured as follows: Otto Addo is the head coach, George Boateng and Didi Dramani are the assistants, Richard Kingston is the goalkeepers’ trainer, and Chris Hughton is the Technical Advisor ahead of the Mundial.
Hughton highlighted the problem of moderating expectations of a football-mad nation like Ghana as they want to see their colours flashed on TV screens in Qatar in an interview that lasted more than an hour and a half.
Hughton revealed his connection with Ghana and the need to accept the mandate to join Ghana’s technical staff. He stated, “There’s no doubt that played a part. I do feel a strong connection to the country. So, when they asked if I was prepared to help, using my experience and knowledge, the answer was always going to be yes.”
In terms of the Black Stars lineup to be given to FIFA ahead of the Mundial, he stressed the need for Ghanaians to develop trust in the team in order to play well on the world stage.
He stated, “It is difficult in a way. I’m confident in the squad and the coaching staff, but part of my role should be to be realistic. Not to dampen expectations, but to speak honestly. We are where we are, the lowest-seeded team in a group of four, and it’s a tough group. In my conversations with people, I encourage them not to get too carried away, but this is the World Cup.”
