Otto Addo has written his name into Ghana’s football history books by becoming the first coach to guide the Black Stars to consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments.
The 50-year-old achieved the milestone after leading Ghana to qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Comoros at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday night.
Mohammed Kudus scored early in the half to give the four time African champions the win in front of a capacity crowd in Accra. Ghana finished the campaign with 25 points from eight wins, one draw and a defeat with plus 17 goals.
In the other game of the group, Mali defeated Madagascar 4-1 while Chad and Central African Republic played 2-3.
Addo had earlier steered the team to the 2022 edition in Qatar, where Ghana edged Nigeria in the final playoff to book their ticket.
After stepping down following the 2022 tournament, Addo returned for a second stint in early 2024.
Despite failing to qualify the team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Ghana Football Association kept faith in him, a decision that has now paid off handsomely.
With this achievement, Addo strengthens his place among Ghana’s most distinguished coaches, joining Ratomir Dukovic (2006), Milovan Rajevac (2010), and Kwesi Appiah (2014) as the only men to have taken the Black Stars to the global stage.
Ghana reached the Round of 16 and quarterfinals in 2006 and 2010, respectively, but have exited at the group stage in their last two appearances, including under Addo in 2022.
The coach will now be aiming to take the Black Stars beyond that mark when the world gathers in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are the other African countries that have reached the FIFA World Cup finals next year.
