World Cup 2026: Absence of Mohammed Kudus and other key players affected Ghana's performance - Roger De Sa

Black Stars assistant coach Roger De Sa has admitted that the absence of Mohammed Kudus and other influential players had a major impact on Ghana’s performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ghana travelled to the tournament without several key members of the squad after Kudus, Mohammed Salisu, Alexander Djiku and Abu Francis were ruled out due to various injury concerns ahead of the competition.

Reflecting on the team’s campaign in an interview with Flashscore, De Sa explained that losing experienced players, particularly in defence, created significant challenges for the technical team during the selection process.

"We had lost four regular players, including both centre-backs, a winger from Tottenham Hotspur (Mohammed Kudus) and a midfielder.

"The absence of the centre-backs was particularly concerning because it meant using younger, less experienced players."

The South African coach, who joined the Black Stars technical team shortly before the tournament, also revealed that selecting the final squad was complicated by the lack of regular playing time for some potential call-ups at club level.

"Some of the players we were considering were also not getting regular game time at their clubs, so the selection process was challenging.

"You could travel to another city to watch a player, take your seat in the stadium and then find that he was on the bench," he added.

Despite the setbacks, Ghana began their World Cup campaign on a positive note, defeating Panama 1-0 in their opening Group L fixture before holding former champions England to a goalless draw.

However, the Black Stars ended the group stage with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia and later exited the tournament after a narrow 1-0 loss to Colombia in the Round of 32.

With the World Cup now behind them, Ghana is expected to welcome back Kudus, Salisu and Djiku as the team begins preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Black Stars have been drawn in Group C alongside Gambia, Ivory Coast and Somalia, with the qualifying campaign scheduled to begin in September.