2026 World Cup: Ghana lacked cohesion, says Sports Minister Kofi Adams

Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has acknowledged that the Black Stars lacked the cohesion and understanding required to compete consistently against the world's top football nations during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The minister made the admission while reflecting on Ghana's campaign following the team's Round of 32 exit at the tournament in North America.

Making their fifth World Cup appearance, the Black Stars began their campaign on a positive note with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama before holding England to a goalless draw in their second Group L fixture.

Ghana then suffered a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in their final group game but advanced to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.

However, Ghana's journey came to an end after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia in the Round of 32, with Jhon Arias scoring the only goal of the match.

Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Mr Adams said Ghana's shortcomings became evident against opponents who had spent years building stable and well-coordinated teams.

According to him, the difference was not necessarily in individual quality but in the level of preparation, continuity and understanding among players.

“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.”

The minister noted that Ghana failed to demonstrate the same chemistry 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 the disappointment of the early exit, Mr Adams believes there were positives from Ghana's campaign.

He pointed to the Black Stars' opening victory over Panama as a significant result and praised the team's display against England, insisting they matched one of the tournament favourites.

“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.”

The Buem MP also maintained that Ghana was unfortunate not to receive key decisions during the encounter, claiming the Black Stars were denied a clear penalty while England escaped a red card incident.

“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.”

Following their World Cup campaign, the Black Stars will now turn their attention to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Ghana has been drawn in Group C alongside Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia and The Gambia, with the qualifying series set to commence in September.