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0 Former Ghana football chief, Kwesi Nyantakyi, has thrown down a defiant warning ahead of the FIFA World Cup, insisting the Black Stars become most dangerous when they are doubted and cautioning rivals against writing Ghana off despite the team’s recent struggles and underdog status.
At a time when fear, frustration and scepticism are engulfing the national team after a disastrous run of results, the former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President has urged Ghanaians to resist the growing wave of pessimism and instead unite behind a side he believes still possesses the capacity to explode on football’s biggest stage.
Pressure and doubts
The Black Stars head to North America under immense pressure after failing to win any of their five international friendlies since sealing qualification for a fifth World Cup appearance last October.
The collapse in form triggered a managerial shakeup, costing Otto Addo his job despite guiding the country to back-to-back World Cup qualifications. Heavy defeats to Austria (5-1) and Germany (2-1) in March ultimately forced the Ghana FA into drastic action, turning to veteran Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz to salvage the campaign before crunch Group L clashes against Panama, England and Croatia.
Yet Mr Nyantakyi — the man who presided over Ghana’s golden World Cup era between 2006 and 2014, including the unforgettable quarter-final run in South Africa in 2010 — believes the current mood of doom surrounding the national team could become the very fuel that sparks an upset.
Speaking at the Nsawam Prison last Thursday during the second edition of his ambitious Prison Football Project, the experienced administrator insisted that Ghana’s football history has repeatedly shown that the Black Stars thrive when expectations collapse.
“As I told somebody yesterday, never write off any Ghana team,” Mr Nyantakyi told the Daily Graphic.
“The time that you have little faith in them is when they spring surprises. Let us rally behind them, and I think they can do well.”
It is a message rooted as much in history as in hope. Ghana stunned the football world on their World Cup debut in Germany in 2006, reached the Round of 16, and then came within a penalty kick off, becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final four years later in South Africa.
However, the challenge facing the current squad may be even more psychologically demanding.
Ghana crashed out at the group stage in each of their last two World Cup appearances in 2014 and 2022, while back-to-back first-round exits at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and 2023 have deepened fears that one of Africa’s traditional powerhouses is now drifting into decline.
Concerns have also intensified over the fitness of Ghana’s biggest attacking weapon, Mohammed Kudus, whose injury situation continues to cast uncertainty over the team’s preparations.
The expanded 48-team tournament across the United States, Canada and Mexico presents Ghana with a brutal group containing England’s attacking firepower, Croatia’s tournament pedigree and a dangerous Panama side desperate to establish itself on the global stage.
Attram confident
Yet former Ghana striker Godwin Attram believes the appointment of Queiroz could prove a turning point to transform the mood and tactical discipline of the side.
Attram strongly backed the Ghana FA’s decision to appoint the vastly experienced Portuguese coach, arguing that Queiroz possesses the pedigree and football intelligence needed to stabilise the team before the tournament begins across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“The FA did well to appoint him, and we hope that whatever the country wants, he will deliver,” Attram said.
Asked whether Ghana could survive one of the tournament’s most demanding groups, the retired striker-turned coach refused to entertain fear. “Why not?” he replied.
“At the end of the day, it’s just football, and if we prepare ourselves very well, in tune with whatever the players must do, I’m very sure we will qualify out of the group.”
Coach Carlos Queiroz is expected to name Ghana’s final 26-man squad on June 1 as the Black Stars enter the decisive final phase of preparations for the FIFA World Cup.
