Kofi Adams commends Black Stars' 'class' performance against England despite World Cup exit

Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has praised the Black Stars for their disciplined display against England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing the team's performance as "class" despite their eventual elimination from the tournament.

Ghana secured qualification to the Round of 32 after opening their Group L campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama before holding England to a goalless draw in a spirited performance that earned widespread praise.

Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Adams said the Black Stars stood toe-to-toe with one of the tournament's strongest teams despite entering the competition with less preparation than many of their rivals.

According to the Minister, several of Ghana's opponents benefited from long-term coaching stability and squads made up of players who had developed strong understanding through years of playing together at both club and international level.

“Where you are coming against teams that possibly have had opportunity to prepare very well and to prepare with managements that have been with them for quite a longer time, a team that may have players that have played in the same club, maybe about four or five of them coming together and having played together for a very long time, any team that may have all its facets, whether it is his defense, his midfield, or the the upfront, the trust upfront being so solid and so coordinated, and they understood each other," he said.

Adams admitted Ghana lacked the same level of chemistry, pointing out that the team was still developing cohesion on the pitch.

“Sometimes, when one player picks a ball and is moving, you can see two, three other players moving into the space that he can lob the ball into them for them to take advantage of; we didn’t seem to have that character.”

Despite those shortcomings, the Sports Minister believes the Black Stars demonstrated their quality throughout the tournament.

He revealed that Panama had viewed Ghana as the most beatable team in the group but were ultimately defeated by the West Africans in the opening match.

“When we came against England after winning against Panama, which also thought that if they were going to pick any three points in the group, it was going to be against Ghana, and we defeated them.”

Reflecting on the draw against England, Adams said Ghana produced one of their finest displays of the competition by frustrating the European side throughout the encounter.

“We came against England, and we showed a certain class and blocked all their movement. Whether it was hurricane or sugar cane or whatever it was, we blocked all their movement.”

The Minister also suggested Ghana were unfortunate not to receive key decisions during the match, insisting many observers believed the Black Stars had been denied a clear penalty while an England player escaped a deserved red card.

“Clearly, it was a game that many thought that Ghana was cheated. That we had a clear penalty that was not given us, and there was a situation that another player of the English class should have been shown a red card, which was not done, and so people felt that we were cheated in that game.”

After the memorable draw with England, Ghana concluded their group-stage campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia before suffering a narrow loss to Colombia in the Round of 32, bringing their World Cup journey to an end.

The Black Stars will now turn their attention to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they have been drawn in Group C alongside Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia and The Gambia. The qualifying campaign is expected to begin in September.