As kick off approaches in a few hours time at the Estadio Artes Carrasco in Lorca – Spain, there is a positive, calm confidence about the Black Stars camp.
In the morning, at least one full hour before the players assembled for breakfast, the head coach was already strutting along to his seat with his laptop tucked under his armpit.
Not a single player or official was late for breakfast – these little things may be taken for granted elsewhere, but it shows that the group has come to know and respect that their coach does not joke with time at all and similar will be ruthless in bringing down the axe without favour if need be.
Changes will be made against Nicaragua for sure. Already, coach Addo is set to lose the services of Alexander Djiku (calf) Kamaldeen Sulemana (foot) and Tariq Lamptey (thigh).
But asking him for his line up too early is always met with a coy smile. So the predictions and guessing game will continue until close to kick off time.
Whoever starts or plays during the 90 minutes must be ready and more importantly, must impress to grasp the attention of the main selector.
But Nicaragua won’t be push overs; certain to approach the game with an ambitious zeal, lots of confidence and aggression which has seen them lose only once in their last eight outings.
Even during the stroll after lunch, Otto Addo did not pause with his now trademark interactions and personal one on one chats with his boys.
Fully aware that his last match against Brazil was not the result nor the overall performance expected, Coach Addo knows there must be a response against a team ranked139th in the world.
The international friendly game against Nicaragua has become even more crucial for the German born Ghanaian beyond just winning. It’s about how the boys respond to Otto Addo’s response.
Yaw Ampofo-Ankrah reporting from Estadio Artes Carrasco – Lorca Spain
