Otto Addo predicts bright future for Forson Amankwah
Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo, has expressed confidence in the potential of Forson Amankwah to become a stalwart player for the Black Stars following his impressive debut against Nigeria in an international friendly on Friday, March 22,2024.
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Amankwah, 21, impressed the coach with his versatility and nifty play in the first 45 minutes before he was replaced by Kassim Nuhu in the second half, as the Black Stars succumbed to a 1-2 loss to Nigeria, runners-up at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire.
Coach Addo was particularly excited by the performance of Amankwah, a right winger for Austrian Bundesliga club, Red Bull Salzburg, as his combination with defensive midfielders Baba Iddrisu and Abdul Samed Salis saved the day for the national team.
The coach expressed his satisfaction with Amankwah's performance, noting his maturity on the field and his ability to handle pressure against a formidable opponent like Nigeria. He emphasised the importance of Amankwah's contribution to the team's future success.
It’s really impressive for a young guy to step up against a strong Nigerian team, and be so self-conscious with the ball, good positioning, also working hard defensively is really, really good. I think we have someone we can look up to in the coming years,” he added.
However, Addo expressed disappointment with İstanbul Başakşehir centre-back, Jerome Opoku, who received a red card for dissent during the match. Addo attributed Jerome's behaviour to cultural differences in language usage, stressing the need for players to adapt to international standards of conduct.
“On Jerome Opoku’s red card for dissent I think there is a little bit of problem of language, especially with English players. For them, it is normal to use certain words and they don’t mean it that way. But if you get to another country and play international matches and the referees are not so good in English they may interprete your words differently.
He was unlucky but Jerome has to learn from this situation and learn to speak well."
The Black Stars will face Uganda tomorrow in their second international friendly after their 2-1 loss to Nigeria last Friday.
These matches will serve as crucial preparation for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.
