Otto Addo Talks About Convincing Lamptey, Inaki Willams To Switch Their Allegiance

The 42-year-old tactician reveals the process he used to lure the five players to change their nationality and play for Black Stars.

Ghana coach Otto Addo has explained how he battled to convince five players to switch their allegiance and play for the Black Stars on the international scene.

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Black Stars received a huge boost after Brighton & Hove Albion defender Tariq Lamptey, Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams, as well as three German-born players - Stephen Ambrosius, Ransford-Yeboah Konigsdorffer and Patric Pfeiffer - were successfully cleared by world governing body Fifa to represent the West Africans.

"Since March we've been talking with a lot of players who we think can impact the team," Addo said as quoted by BBC Sports Africa.

"It's a difficult decision, especially if you were born in another country, and you're young and have a choice to play for two nations because once you've played more than three matches, you can't change again.

"And this is not like the club stage where you can sign maybe for one to three years. And then after that, if things don't work, you can go to another club.

"It's a lifetime decision."

Addo himself was caught up in a similar situation during his playing career, as he switched from Germany and played for Ghana.

"Being born in Germany, maybe I can even understand more of that thinking," Addo continued.

"We want those who decided to play for Ghana to get familiar with the team and the staff. So, everybody who wants to join has to join now and they know exactly what they're going to do."

Addo is confident the new players will adapt well and will fight for the team in subsequent engagements.

"This is why they really have to think about what to do. Especially if you're not born in this environment, it's not always easy," added Addo.

"But they know what they stand to get. And first of all, it's a lot of joy and love.

"And surely also for them. It's not only about the World Cup, but also about more World Cups to come.

"It's about African Cup of Nations. It's about winning, being successful. So, it's not about just this one World Cup in Qatar."

The Black Stars have been drawn in Group H of the World Cup alongside Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea, and will kick off their campaign against the Cristiano Ronaldo side at Stadium 974 on November 24.