GHANA – looking to advance further than the 2010 World Cup

FIFA Rankings : 61

Odds : 150-1

Previous tournaments :

Ghana had won the Africa Cup of Nations title four times before finally qualifying for the World Cup at the 10th time of asking. Their debut in Germany in 2006 was followed by successive appearances in 2010 and 2014. Victories over the Czech Republic and U.S. saw Ghana through to the second round in 2006 but they then lost 3-0 to Brazil in Dortmund. In 2010, they became only the third African side to reach the quarter-finals as they carried the continentals hopes in South Africa. They finished above Australia and Serbia in their group, then beat the Americans again before a controversial penalty shootout defeat to Uruguay in Johannesburg. Ghana’s last appearance in Brazil was beset by squabbles over money and they went home early.

How they qualified :

A goalkeeping howler handed Ghana an away goal in their playoff tie against Nigeria, proving decisive in securing a ticket to the World Cup. Ghana were held goalless at home in the first leg but then Thomas Partey caught Nigeria unawares 10 minutes into the second leg and, despite giving up an equaliser, they held out for qualification on the away goals rule. Ghana advanced to the playoff round by finishing top of their group, narrowly edging out South Africa, who sought FIFA intervention after claiming that a decisive penalty that secured Ghana victory in the match between the two had been corruptly awarded. The complaints were dismissed

Form guide :

Ghana got a stark reminder of the gulf between their side and the top World Cup contenders when Brazil easily beat them in a friendly in Le Havre in September. It was one of five defeats in 12 games suffered by the Black Stars this year, which has not inspired confidence among their fans. They started 2022 with a shock defeat at the Cup of Nations finals to the tiny Comoros Islands, who eliminated them at the first hurdle, leading to the sacking of coach Milovan Rajevac. They also lost 4-1 to Japan in the Kirin Cup in mid-year.

Looking to advance further than the 2010 World Cup

Ghana have gone through three coaches in 12 months and are making a concerted effort to add new talent to the team in an effort to reprise old glory and be competitive at the World Cup.

Otto Addo, with no previous senior coaching experience and combining his role as talent manager at German club Borussia Dortmund, will be leading the Black Stars campaign in Qatar where they take on Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay.

He is Ghana’s third coach in the last year after Charles Akonnor was fired despite taking the team through the group phase of the African World Cup qualifiers into the playoffs in March, and Milovan Rajevac, shown the door after a disastrous Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon at the start of the year.

Rajevac was brought back after his exploits in 2010 when Ghana came within the width of the crossbar of becoming the first African country to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

But there were few similarities between the class of 2010 and the current generation and the Serbian was in charge for a matter of weeks as Ghana were humiliated at the Cup of Nations when the tiny Comoros Islands put them out in the first round.

That led to the surprise appointment of the inexperienced Addo, the 47-year-old former Ghana international who was born in Germany and played for the Black Stars in their first World Cup appearance in 2006.

He had former Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton as his advisor as Ghana rode their luck to edge Nigeria in the March World Cup playoffs.

Ghana were held to a 0-0 home draw in the first leg of the tie but then snatched a berth in Qatar on the away goals rule following a 1-1 draw after a goalkeeping howler from the Nigerians.

Since then there has been a concerted effort to strengthen the squad by persuading players with Ghanaian heritage to join the squad, like former Spain international Inaki Williams and Tariq Lamptey, the England under-21 fullback from Brighton.

There are still hopes of adding the likes of Bayer Leverkusen forward Callum Hudson-Odoi, on loan from Chelsea, before their Group H opener with Portugal in Doha on 24 November.

Team announced :