Ghana fire coach Addo 72 days before WC opener

ACCRA, Ghana — Otto Addo has been released from his contract as head soccer coach of Ghana, just 72 days before the team plays its first match at the World Cup.

“The Ghana ​Football Association (GFA) have parted ways with the head coach ​of the senior men’s national team (Black Stars), Otto Addo effective immediately,” it said in a statement Monday on its website.

It gave no further details on a replacement for Addo, or the reasons for the termination.

The firing came after a 2-1 loss to Germany in Stuttgart on Monday. Ghana ⁠also lost 5-1 in Austria last Friday and has lost four friendlies in a row.

Addo was on his second spell as coach of the team after Borussia Dortmund agreed to release him from his role in talent development at the end of the season in March 2024. Addo already coached Ghana on an interim basis for much of 2022, including at the World Cup in Qatar, when Ghana beat South Korea but was still eliminated in the group stage.

During his playing career, the Hamburg, Germany-born Addo won the Bundesliga with Dortmund and played for Ghana at the 2006 World Cup.

Ghana, which ⁠reached ​the World Cup for the ​fifth time, is in Group L with Croatia, England and Panama. It plays its first match on June 17 against Panama at Toronto.