Black Stars head coach, Otto Addo, says the first group game against Portugal will be key to his side’s chances of making it past the group stage at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

At the World Cup to be staged in Qatar, the Black Stars are pitted in Group H, where they will face Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.

The first group game, one Addo says will be crucial for his side, takes place on Thursday, November 24, at the Stadium 974 in Ras Abu Aboud.

“We’re going up against three strong opponents and we could lose all three games or win all three,” the gaffer told FIFA in an interview.

“It’s up to us and how we adapt to their playing style, how we stop them, how we work together as a team. We need to play intelligent football, exploit our opponents’ weaknesses and bring our own strengths to the fore.”

According to the former Black Stars midfielder, how he approaches the games against South Korea and Uruguay will be quite dependent on the result of the first game.

“Every single game is different and the first match will be decisive,” he added.

“The subsequent games depend on the first one. If we lose, we need to be more attacking in the second match, but if not we can set ourselves up differently. It also depends how Uruguay and Korea Republic play against each other. In the end, it’s about mentality.”

The Black Stars opened camping on Monday, November 14, ahead of the friendly game against Switzerland on Thursday.