Ghana’s preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup continue on Friday when they play one of two friendlies scheduled for the March international window.
The Black Stars will come up against Austria at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna as Otto Addo continues to fine-tune his squad for the upcoming global tournament.
This will be the first meeting between Ghana and Austria since 2007, when they played out a 1-1 draw with Sulley Muntari scoring for the Black Stars.
Otto Addo’s side are only returning to action for the first time since being involved in the Kirin Cup during their Asian Tour, which saw them play Japan and South Korea.
Both teams have been in camp since Sunday, March 22, as they continue to prepare for the fixture on Friday.
What has been said
Players and coaches of the two teams are looking ahead to the encounter as they faced the press on Thursday.
Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick was wary of Friday’s opposition.
“Ghana is a strong team in terms of play, but they also have a certain physicality, athleticism, and dynamism,” he told reporters.
“This is a great test for us because we need to bring our strengths to the field, both physically, tactically, and technically in order to win the game.”
Austria forward Michael Gregoritsch was equally forthcoming ahead of the tie, expressing genuine enthusiasm at the prospect of facing a team from outside the familiar European mould.
“Ghana is a physically strong, technically well-trained team that can transition quickly,” the Freiburg striker said. “It’s a perfect test to see how we fare against non-European opponents. We’re looking forward to playing against an African team.”
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Otto Addo struck a confident and focused tone as his side prepares for the game.
“We want to win every match we play, and this is for sure,” he told reporters.
“Now the full focus is on Austria. We saw what they do, we have analysed them well and very hopeful that the players will do it at the end.”
Captain Jordan Ayew echoed his coach’s determination at the press conference, insisting the squad is in excellent shape heading into the match.
“We want to play for our country, we want to do well for our country, so every game is important,” the Leicester City forward said. “Tomorrow is going to be a tough game, but we’ll do our best.”
Form Guide
Austria have won three of their last five games across all competitions, drawing one and losing the other. In that period, goalscoring has not been a problem for Rangnick’s men as they have scored 15 goals, including a 10-0 win over San Marino.
For Ghana, the two defeats from the last two games have come against Japan and South Korea. In both games, they failed to score a goal. The other three games saw them beat Comoros, Central African Republic and Chad, all coming in the World Cup qualifiers.
Possible Starting line-ups:
Austria: Schlager; Posch, Lienhart, Danso, Mwene; Laimer, Seiwald; Wimmer, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautović
Ghana: Asare; Senaya, Djiku, Luckassen, Kohn; Sibo, Partey, Yirenkyi; Issahaku, Jordan, Semenyo
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com