Coach Otto Addo says he was surprised midfielder Joseph Alfred Duncan carried on his decision to call it quits with the Ghana senior national team despite assurances of a World Cup place later in the year.
The Fiorentina star issued a statement through his club that he had been “humiliated, discriminated against and left aside for years,” thus his decision to retire from the national team to focus on his club career.
Duncan, 29, after making his Black Stars debut against Cape Verde in November 2012, had just 9 caps for Ghana.
In his first public reaction to the development, coach Addo said he understood Duncan’s frustrations from the past but didn’t expect it to blow out to this level.
“The last time I called him [Alfred Duncan] was February. We had good talks.
“I wanted to invite him. He told me the reason why he didn’t want to come. That’s it, I had to accept it.
“It was hard for me to understand him because he had the opportunity to join a team that’s going to the World Cup.
“But he has his reasons and I have to accept it,” Addo said in a pre-match press conference for Ghana’s opening Afcon 2023 qualifier against Madagascar on Tuesday.
“He congratulated me when we qualified, he texted me. He is a good guy but he had a bad experience. The business of football is hard but I’m a little bit sad that he decided this way,” the coach added.
Alfred Duncan’s last game for Ghana was against South Africa at the Cape Coast Stadium when the Black Stars opened their qualifying campaign to Afcon 2021 with a 2-0 win. He started the game as a left-winger and was substituted after 61 minutes.
Ghana is preparing to host Madagascar in an opener to Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Afcon this time. Kickoff is 19:00 GMT at Cape Coast Stadium on Wednesday, June 1.
