Otto Addo: I'm not afraid to bench Kudus or any Black Stars player

Ghana coach Otto Addo has emphasised that he’s not afraid to bench any player, including Mohammed Kudus.

He said this when he addressed journalists last Thursday after naming a 25-man squad for the upcoming 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Angola and Niger.

The Black Stars boss made some bold calls in his latest squad, having dropped Thomas Partey and also handed the captaincy to Jordan Ayew after taking it from Kudus.

Otto Addo says only in-form players will play

Addo added that his selections are always based on individual performances and not necessarily which club the player plays for or his status in the team.

It's not about local or non-local. It's about performance. If you train well, why should I leave you on the bench? If I think you are better than whoever—Kudus or whoever—then why should I let him play?” he said.

I want to win. I'm not doing anything just to please somebody. And to be honest, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to put whoever on the bench. I'm not afraid. But I'm looking at the performance.

The Black Stars will face Angola in an away tie next Friday, November 15, 2024, before hosting Niger in Accra three days later.

Ghana’s squad is led by West Ham United star Kudus, Leicester City duo Jordan Ayew and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Athletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams.

The goalkeeping options are Lawrence Ati Zigi, Joseph Wollacott and Abdul Nurudeen. In defence, Alidu Seidu, Tariq Lamptey, Alexander djiku and Gideon Mensah are all present.

Elisha Owusu, Michael Baidoo, Ibrahim Sulemana, Ibrahim Osman and Francis Abu make up the midfield options.

Meanwhile, three players from the Ghana Premier League have also been invited, namely; FC Samartex’s Isaac Afful, Asante Kotoko’s Emmanuel Antwi and Nations FC’s Razak Simpson.

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