Black Stars loss to Japan and South Korea will affect FIFA Rankings - Sam Johnson

Former Ghana defender Sam Johnson has voiced concern over the Black Stars’ winless tour of Asia, cautioning that consecutive defeats could negatively impact the nation’s FIFA ranking.

Ghana fell 2–0 to Japan before losing 1–0 to South Korea, leaving the team without a victory in the friendly matches.

Speaking to Citi Sports, Johnson described the results as worrying, particularly with the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon.

“In the first place, as a player or as a country, definitely we are going to be worried that things can go well, which is not good for going to the World Cup.”

The former Hearts of Oak defender highlighted the immediate repercussion: a likely drop in Ghana’s FIFA ranking.

"The only problem that I have is that our rankings will go down. The more you lose, the more you go down; that is the only problem."

Despite the disappointing results, he urged Ghanaians to consider the context of the defeats.

“Some of the players in there are not the key players we want to take to the World Cup, so that alone should change the perception because we don’t have our set, that is also a factor.”

Johnson also emphasized that many players were new to the Black Stars setup and need time to adapt.

"Some of them it’s their first time coming, some of them I don’t even know where they are coming from, but they are Ghanaians, and we have to allow them to play. Let’s see what happens in the other friendly games, and then we can judge.

He described the Asian tour as a testing phase for coach Otto Addo and his technical team.

"We are doing an experiment, and the experiment is not all that okay for us. We have to change it and see how best we can get our players to do the best they can."

The Black Stars are set to regroup in March next year to continue their preparations for the 2026 World Cup but before that, the Black Stars will discover their World Cup group opponents on December 5.