
AFCON 2024 : GHANA’S CHANCES OF QUALIFYING TO MOROCCO 2025 NATIONS CUP DWINDLES TOTALLY AFTER LOSING 0-2 TO FOOTBALL MINNOWS-SUDAN; LESSONS DISCOVERED
- Sports News
- October 17, 2024
- No Comment
- 94
Ghana’s chances of qualifying to Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament dwindles to a smaller percentage after painfully losing to Sudan on a neutral ground.
Black Stars were shamefully beaten 0-2 by a war battling country-Sudan at the Benina Martyrs Stadium in Benghazi-Libya on Tuesday 15 October, 2024.
The defeat to Sudan, has not only jeopardized Ghana’s chances of qualifying to next year’s Nations Cup, after twenty years of consistent qualification to the tournament, but has given a clear indication that Ghana is no more the power house of African football feared by many countries in the past. It has also exposed the cracks within the team and therefore left lessons to be learnt by the authorities handling football in Ghana today.
Monday’s lose indicates that, Ghana has only two points out of four matches played, which put the Black Stars in serious danger of missing out on the continent’s biggest tournament in Africa for so many years.
However, with just two games left, Ghana, haa no option than to win both games and hope that Sudan loses their next two matches all things been equal. This will be the only surety that can seal Black Stars qualification to the next Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which makes it an uphill task.
Meanwhile, the problems in the Black Stars setup currently, makes it even more daunting looking at the defensive vulnerabilities of the stars that were so glaring in both matches played against Sudan and even in their previous games.
Errors from Alidu Seidu, Gideon Mensah and Mohammed Salisu lead to the goals scored by Sudan’s Ahmed Hamed Mahmoud and Mohammed Abdelrahman. With these recurring defensive lapses in the team throughout the qualifiers, further compounds Ghana’s problems judging from the short time for the next qualifying matches.
Moreover, with the quality of attacking talents and speed wingers in the team, such as Mohammed Kudus, Fatawu Issahaku, Jordan Ayew, Antoine Semenyo, Inaki Williams etc Ghana’s offensive department, lack’s spark and creativity to cause harm to any opposing team, and this was evident in the game against Sudan. The Black Stars couldnt score a goal in both games and only managed one shot on target throughout the match in Benghazi which unfortunately do not support the quality these Black Stars players show in their clubs.
Coach Otto Addo, on the other hand, currently is ùnder intensed pressure judging from the team’s recent performances. The defeat has put coach Otto Addo under serious public scrutiny, with mounting criticism over his tactical approach and style of play. The Sudan game exposed the former Dortmund trainer scout more, judging from his failure to adjust to coach Kwesi Appiah’s game plan and tactics which raises questions about his decision-making and leadership qualities.
In addition, key players like Thomas Partey. Mohammed Kudus, Alexander Djiku and few others must step up their game and lead by example to lift the team’s spirit if they are to salvage their qualification chances.
Obviously, Time and Tide waits for no man, and so therefore, time is running out for Ghana, if the one’s Africa football giant want to salvage its little football integrity left. The current FA leadership led by Kurt Okraku and the entire Black Stars technical team have to find solutions quickly to avoid a catastrophic failure in the country’s football history after 20 years.

I’m a Practicing Media Personnel /Freelance Journalist. The Editor/Blogger of this portal, with interest in Sports, Environmental and other Social issues that affects society.
A member of Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) and AIPS International.