Odds stacked against African teams at World Cup, says Ghana coach

27.11.2022 - 15:53 arabnews.com

DOHA: Ghana coach Otto Addo said Sunday the chances of an African team reaching the latter stages of the World Cup will remain limited until the continent is awarded more places at the tournament.

No African side has ever gone beyond the quarter-finals at a World Cup, although Ghana were a missed penalty away from reaching the last four at South Africa in 2010.

Addo, speaking on the eve of his team’s Group H match against South Korea, said Africa, with 54 teams, deserved more slots. “There was never a point where everybody had an equal chance at the start.

Never in FIFA history,” Addo said in Doha. “It’s very, very difficult if you have five slots to get far. If you have 12 or 14 slots — I don’t know how many Europe get — the probability that a team will get further is much, much higher.” Thirteen of the 32 nations present in Qatar come from Europe.

cup Roberto Martínez Otto Addo Argentina Russia Qatar Portugal Mexico South Africa Doha Senegal Japan Ghana Saudi Arabia Riyadh South Korea

LISBON: Portugal coach Fernando Santos has quit, the Portuguese soccer federation announced Thursday, after eight years in the job and five days after Portugal’s exit from the World Cup in the quarterfinals. The 68-year-old Santos reached an amicable agreement with the federation to leave two years before his contract ends, a statement said. The federation named no replacement for Santos and said they were starting their search.

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Also, the head of Qatar 2022 says "death is a natural part of life" after reports that a Filipino worker died while carrying out repairs at the Saudi Arabian squad’s resort.

Ghana coach confirms he is leaving job immediately

AL WAKRAH, Qatar : Ghana coach Otto Addo confirmed he would be leaving after the team’s exit from the World Cup on Friday, having already said before the tournament in Qatar he would not be staying on after.

Uruguay beats Ghana 2-0 at World Cup but both teams out

AL-WAKRAH, Qatar: This time, Luis Suarez cried on the sidelines after Uruguay were eliminated from the World Cup despite a 2-0 win over Ghana on Friday. The result also put Ghana out of the competition. Suarez played a key role in both first-half goals scored by Giorgian De Arrascaeta and Uruguay appeared headed for the round of 16 after inflicting more pain on Ghana 12 years after their now-infamous meeting in the quarterfinals at the World Cup in South Africa.

‘Little Pep’ Gvardiol coming up big for Croatia at World Cup

DOHA: For 90 minutes, the hulking, masked mass that is Joško Gvardiol kept Belgium’s big-name strikers at bay with timely tackles — none bigger than his stop on Romelu Lukaku two minutes into stoppage time. Then the 20-year-old Croat who is fast becoming the most sought-after center back in Europe went over to the side of the field and reached up to embrace his mother and cry. The fact that Croatia conceded only one goal in their three group games at the World Cup is largely down to the performance of Gvardiol, who, despite his hefty stature, is nicknamed “Little Pep” because of the similarities of his last name with that of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.