The Black Stars of Ghana, once a formidable force in Africa and the world has now been reduced to a toothless bulldog.
The 2010 Fifa World Cup quarter finalist have failed to glitter in the last 6 years as their lights is becoming dimmer at every tournament.
Ghana football has not seen its best of years recently. Since 2020, the country’s football has been in a declining state. The one time giants on the African continent with impressive performances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup has experienced a torrid time with appalling outputs in tournaments.
Ghana failed to get to the second round of the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon and two years later, it was the same story in Cote D’Ivoire. The country couldn’t even qualify for the AFCON in Morocco in 2025. Comoros, Niger and others have now become a bogey side for the four-time African champions which is unacceptable.
At the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the team did not fare any better as they were eliminated from the Group stage after losing to Portugal and Uruguay while they defeated South Korea 3-2.
The problem with the Black Stars is a holistic one. It cuts across all spheres and it needs urgent attention.
In terms of talents, Ghana doesn’t possessed the quality of yesteryears. The current group of players are not at par with the likes of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Kwadwo Asamoah, Asamoah Gyan Stephen Appiah among others. These were players who were naturally talented and carried Ghana on their shoulders in tournaments
Notwithstanding, there are some good individual players in the current team such as veteran skipper Jordan Ayew, Fatawu Issahaku, Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey and Alexander Djiku who on any day can live up to expectations.
Adequate team work, proper planning and 100 percent commitment on the part of the players will be ideal if Ghana is to realized their dream of getting to the second round of the 2026 World Cup.
The Black Stars will be under the tutelage of willy Portuguese coach Carlos Queoroz who replaced Otto Addo in April 2026.
The Veteran coach has vast experience having handled teams like Portugal, Columbia and Iran at the world cup, Egypt at the 2021 AFCON while on club scene, he was assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United during their gory days. He also handled the Galaticos at Real Madrid.
Queiroz may have the magical hand and an excellent technical brain to propel Ghana to the second round of the world cup but he must first install self believe in the players.
After recent failures, the morale of the players is down. They need psyching and confidence to bounce back with barely a month to the World Cup.
The friendly games against Mexico and Wales in May and June respectively would be the first litmus test for Queiroz. He must be able to guide the team to victory which could boost their confidence for the tournament.
One major problem with Ghana has been player selection in the last few years. Under Otto Addo, players were sometimes invited never used while others like Caleb Yirenkyi were continuously played out of position. It is prudent to state that players must play their natural roles since we are bereft of talents.
The dream of every Ghanaian is to see the the Black Stars excel at the 2026 World Cup but anything less than that, no one should blame Carlos Queiroz as he had a very short time to prepare the team.
The lights of the Black Stars is not glowing as it has been covered by dark clouds. However, Queiroz can pull the nuts out of the blazing fire and Ghana can dim the path of England, Croatia and Panama to get to the second round of the Mundial.
Source: Edmund Okai Gyimah
