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#EIBQatar2022 FEATURE – Black Stars and the revenge mission
- Ghana play Portugal, Korea Republic and Uruguay in Group H
- We look at the approach of Otto Addo, who trusts in youth
- A boy wonder and a veteran forward are key to the Black Stars’ hopes
Ghanaian fans are celebrating again. After missing out on the FIFA World Cup™ in 2018, their team will be back on the biggest of stages at Qatar 2022 – even if they did take a tortuous route to get there.
After crashing out of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage earlier this year, Ghana chose to get rid of coach Milovan Rejavac, replacing him with Otto Addo. The 47-year-old, who played for a number of years in the Bundesliga, including for Borussia Dortmund, took over the reins of a country for whom he had played 15 times and steered them to Qatar courtesy of an away-goals win over arch-rivals Nigeria in the African play-offs.
Ghana have been drawn in Group H along with Portugal, Korea Republic and Uruguay. The last of those three names will have caused more than a few Ghanaians to wince when it came out of the hat. At South Africa 2010, the Black Stars were eliminated in highly-dramatic fashion by Uruguay in the quarter-finals. Ghana therefore have a chance for revenge in what promises to be a tense showdown, particularly since they face one another in the third and final group game, when there could be plenty on the line.
Ghana are the surprise package in what is a very strong group. While their performances en route to the World Cup were up and down to say the least, the squad has an interesting mix of experienced and talented players capable of winning matches at this tournament. It will be up to Addo as coach to find the right blend and give the team the self-belief it needs to shake things up in Qatar.
Ghana‘s Group H matches
Portugal-Ghana | 24 November (19:00 local time)
Korea Republic-Ghana | 28 November (16:00 local time)
Ghana-Uruguay | 2 December (18:00 local time)
Incredible Uruguay v Ghana | Remix
Red cards, missed penalties and a whole lot of controversy… The quarter-final match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup was something to remember.
Otto Addo’s approach and tactics
Ghana barely squeezed through the second round of qualifying for the World Cup, and then had to face no less a challenge than Nigeria’s Super Eagles in March with a ticket to Qatar up for grabs. Addo had only taken over the coaching reins from Rajevac in the February, meaning that this was a real baptism of fire. He was already well acquainted with the squad from his role as assistant coach, but he only had a few weeks in which to prepare both himself and the team for the crucial matches against Nigeria. His task was not made any easier by the fact that he also had a number of absences to deal with in the squad.
Addo made five changes to the starting line-up that Rajevac had picked for his last match in charge. He promoted youngsters Mohammed Kudus and Felix Afena-Gyan to the starting XI for the first leg against Nigeria, and with the formation alternating between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, the team looked particularly solid in defence. This had been a real problem for Ghana in the recent past, but here they kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw in Addo’s first match in charge. He then sent out the same XI for the second leg and his trust was rewarded with a battling performance in a 1-1 that saw them through to the World Cup on the away goals rule.
It has already become clear that Addo will not shy away from picking youngsters, with four members of the starting line-up against Nigeria under the age of 25 and two of them still teenagers. These young and hungry players will bring fresh impetus to the team and put pressure on the more established members of the squad as they look to go as far as they can in Qatar.
Key player: Andre Ayew
One of the most interesting and crucial players in Addo’s squad is Andre Ayew. With 107 international appearances to his name, the Ghana captain is closing in on Asamoah Gyan’s record of 109 caps. The son of the legendary Abedi Pele has also scored 23 international goals, putting him fifth for his country. In 2009, he was part of the team that won the U-20 crown at both continental and world level.
Facts and figures like these go some way to reflecting the importance of Ayew to the national team. Alongside his younger brother Jordan (81 appearances, 19 goals), himself a critical part of the squad, the 32-year-old will be looking to convert his many years of international experience up front into a haul of goals come the end of November.
Last season, he moved to Qatar to play for Al-Sadd, meaning that he will be well acclimatised to playing conditions as soon as the World Cup gets under way. He is very much Addo’s right-hand man and will play an important role in mentoring the younger squad members, after shining on the world stage as a youth player himself. Back at South Africa 2010, he came second in the voting behind Thomas Muller for the Best Young Player award.
One to watch: Mohammed Kudus
Kudus moved to the Dutch Eredivisie ahead of the 2020/21 season, joining Ajax and getting playing time in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. This year, he has been particularly impressive in the Champions League, scoring in all three of his team’s matches thus far, against Rangers, Liverpool and Napoli. He got an assist as well as a goal against the Glasgow club, which saw him voted as player of the match and named in the Champions League team of the week. He also has four goals in eight Eredivisie games this season.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has scored five times in 16 international appearances to date, and established himself as one of the first names on the team-sheet as far as Addo is concerned. He regularly took on leadership roles as a youth player and has the potential to be one of the stand-out players at Qatar 2022. Not for nothing is he regularly cited as one of the most talented players born in 2000.
Ghana’s World Cup record
Ghana’s fans had to wait until 2006 for their team to play in a World Cup for the first time. With John Mensah, Stephen Appiah and Asamoah Gyan in their ranks, the Black Stars made it all the way to the Round of 16 in Germany before losing to Brazil. At South Africa 2010, Ghana went one better before falling to Uruguay in the quarter-finals. At Brazil 2014, Ghana came unstuck in what was a very tough group, but they could hold their heads up high as they were the only team not to lose against eventual champions Germany. In Russia 2018 qualifying, the Black Stars failed to make it past Egypt and had to watch the tournament from home.
Credit: FIFA
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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