Ghana coach Otto Addo has urged the Black Stars to take lessons from their heavy 5-1 loss to Austria in an international friendly in Vienna on Friday, March 27, 2026.
The defeat has raised concerns about the team’s defensive organisation and readiness ahead of the 2026 World Cup in June.
Still, Addo emphasised that the focus should be on collective improvement rather than individual blame, particularly defending goalkeeper Zigi, who conceded five goals.
“That was a little bit unlucky. Sure, we want to use these games also to give chances and also to have a competition about positions,” he said.
“As I said, we have a lot of things to analyse. Zigi, I think the five goals were not his fault—especially the first two; there’s nothing he can do.”
Austria exploited defensive lapses to dominate the match, leaving Ghana with pressing questions ahead of future fixtures.
Despite the scoreline, Addo maintained that the result should serve as a learning opportunity for the entire squad.
“At the end, it was an unlucky evening for him as a goalkeeper. He didn’t deserve to get five goals, but this is football, also,” he added.
“As I said, we have to learn, and this is the most important. It’s not about the goalkeeper or this player or that player—we all as a team have to learn and find better solutions for these problems we had this evening.”
The Black Stars are scheduled to face Germany in another international friendly on Monday, March 30, 2026.
