Ghana Coach Otto Addo Explains Omission of In Form Joseph Painstil From His Squad for Brazil Friendly

• Black Stars coach Otto Addo has explained why he did not invite Joseph Painstil for the friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua
• The KRC Genk midfielder has been on a good run of form in Belgium, scoring four goals in eight matchs
• The Black Stars are preparing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the two friendlies before Otto Addo names his final squad

Otto Addo has revealed that Joseph Painstil's failure to travel with the Black Stars to Japan for the Kirin Cup tournament played a role in his decision in naming the team for the Brazil and Nicaragua friendlies.

Painstil has been in red-hot form for Belgium topflight side KRC Genk, scoring a goal in every two games this season.

And his omission from Otto Addo's squad for the friendlies this week caused a stir in Ghana, but the Black Stars trainer feels there are players better than Painstil in his team.

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“Joseph [Painstil] is doing very well. It would have been good for him to play the Japan and Chile games to show more of himself but he had problems and decided to leave the team,” he said in a pre-match presser.

“Also, he wanted to start with his team [Genk], this one I can I understand. Surely I can just judge what I see.

“At the moment, I see others ahead of him but I think Joseph is a good player. He’s not with the squad now, it doesn’t mean everything is gone. Anything can still happen, we are monitoring all the players, their performances so the gate is not closed.”

The Black Stars will face Nicaragua three days after the Brazil friendly.

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Otto Addo keeps door open for uninvited players ahead of World Cup

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Ghana coach Otto Addo has reiterated that there could be changes to his team before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.

The Black Stars trainer has named a 29-man squad for the international friendlies against Brazil and Nicaragua this week.

And ahead of the match against the Samba Boys, Otto Addo revealed that some of the uninvited players might make a return to his team ahead of the Mundial.