Ghana defender Jonas Adjetey has spoken candidly about the emotional toll of conceding penalties that led to defeats for the Black Stars, admitting that the criticism “really got to him”.
In a frank interview with Michael Oti Adjei, the centre-back opened up about the difficult period and how he managed to navigate the negativity.
“It’s really tough. It really got to me. That’s not exactly what we wanted. It was an assessment game, but not all assessment games. We need results too, but unfortunately I conceded penalties that led to the defeat of the team,” Adjetey said.
The defender acknowledged the impact of his errors, which drew significant criticism from Ghanaian fans.
Adjetey revealed that he deliberately stayed away from social media to protect his mental health.
“I know who I am, and then I know how situations like this try to get to Ghanaians. I didn’t visit social media because I know there would be negativity and other stuff. I just tried to put my head down and work more towards it, and that’s it.”
The defender also admitted he feared his World Cup dream was over after Otto Addo was sacked as head coach.
“Yeah, I did [fear that I would miss the World Cup after Otto Addo was sacked] in the sense that I caused a penalty in Austria and then one again in Germany. So I thought that was the end of the story at that point in time. It got to me but not too much. I just tried to leave the rest to God and work my way out.”
Despite the setbacks, Adjetey’s resilience paid off – he made the World Cup squad and has since established himself as a key figure in the Black Stars setup.
