The thanks Ghana got for avoiding Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese squad was taking on the Black Stars’ evil twin in Colombia but that path didn’t yield the amount of positivity the tie promised as Ghana delivered a frustrating performance in the 1-0 loss.
Wanting to have Thomas Partey feature in the game outside the borders of Canada and avoiding Ronaldo, who has scored twice in two World Cup games against Ghana, the Black Stars definitely fancied their chances of beating Colombia to reach the round of 16 stage for the third time in World Cup history.
Despite the improved level of coaching Carlos Queiroz delivered for the team, Ghana just couldn’t get the better of the Colombians who have the same traits-strength, physicality, speed, athleticism, aggression as the Black Stars and more importantly, overall quality than the Black Stars.
While players like Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya and Jerome Opoku distinguished themselves by delivering a string of top performances, others flamed out and offered very little to improve the chances of Ghana making a deep run in the competition.
For some of these players like Kamaldeen Sulemana, there is time for them to grow into top performers but even in such instances, a period away from the team would suffice but here are the players who definitely have no business being with this team moving forward.
Jordan Ayew
Leadership takes the fall when things go awry and the Black Stars captain deservedly should take the fall for a poor showing in his third and what should be his last FIFA World Cup. Despite starting all four Ghana games in the tournament and playing extensive minutes, Jordan Ayew, a striker, registered zero goals, zero assists and most shockingly, zero attempts on goal.
Based on his quite impressive showing at the World Cup albeit with very limited time as Black Stars head coach, Carlos Queiroz deserves to be handed a lengthy contract. As such, Black Stars fans should get accustomed to seeing Ghana score mainly through transition moments and set pieces but on both counts as it witnessed in the World Cup, Ayew falls short.
In transition, Jordan’s hold up play which has its use especially in the latter part of games, has become a staple bottle neck that prevents Ghana from fully tapping into such goal scoring opportunities. Regarding set pieces, Jordan Ayew’s deliveries have consistently fell way short of quality which effectively robs Ghana of potential goals.
Jordan Ayew….hmmmmmm pic.twitter.com/Z9MOzM0hZV
— Yaw Adjei-Mintah (@YawMintYM) June 18, 2026
That aside, playing in Queiroz’s defensive styled system demands a lot of running from forwards and Jordan Ayew showed clears signs of fatigue and his slow pace meant that in Ghana’s win over Panama, he failed to get his foot to the ball to steer Brandon Thomas-Asante’s cross into the net.
Against Colombia, Jordan Ayew struggled to track runners and was absent in the penalty box to turn Antoine Semenyo’s cross into the net. From a physical standpoint and a technical one, Jordan Ayew doesn’t cut it anymore.
Inaki Williams
Two World Cups and an AFCON into his career with the Black Stars, Inaki Williams still looks unsettled, frustrated and flat out poor since becoming eligible to play for Ghana after switching his international commitment from Spain. Like the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Inaki Williams failed to score and despite featuring twice in the 2026 edition, the Athletic Bilbao player’s performance was downright forgettable.
Under Chris Hughton, Otto Addo and Carlos Queiroz, the veteran forward has struggled and the time has come to kick him out of the Black Stars. Inaki Williams’ move to play for Ghana was purely a business decision after he confessed that he didn’t feel Ghanaian and in the same regard the favour should be reciprocated and leave him off Ghana’s radar.
Kwasi Sibo and Elisha Owusu
It is very difficult to separate this pair of defensive midfielders who are limited in their mobility, passing and overall quality despite Owusu featuring for Ghana since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The pair has consistently turned in bang on average performances and haven’t covered themselves in glory. In Sibo’s case, his positional discipline was all over the place as a gaping hole opened up prior to Petar Sucic’s strike in Croatia’s 2-1 win over Ghana.
His limited passing ability meant that Ghana could barely maintain possession or have forward passes played against Colombia just as he has subjected Ghanaians to in all the games he has played. In the loss to Colombia, Owusu replaced Sibo and practically nothing improved in Ghana’s chances to win the game.
Unlike, the Marvin Senaya-Gideon Mensah combo that has drawn a ton of praise for its brilliant play, the Owusu-Sibo tandem has done the opposite and needs to make way for the likes of Ibrahim Sulemana, Majeed Ashimeru, Lawrence Agyekum and Francis Abu.
Alidu Seidu
Bar a brief run of positive play, Stade Rennes player Alidu Seidu has been below average for Ghana and the performance against Colombia delivered the latest example why Ghana should look to move on from him and improve the options behind starter Marvin Senaya. Seidu struggled in one on one situations, was casual with his attacking play and as usual, his tackling was wild as ever.
Baba Rahman
Aside a cameo appearance in Ghana’s goalless draw with England, Rahman wasn’t featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and it is clear the sun has set on a tumultuous relationship with the Black Stars. Ghana needs a better back up to Gideon Mensah and potentially a new starter.
His mistake led to Wales’ equalizer in the only friendly game Ghana played under Carlos Queiroz before heading to the World Cup showed that Baba Rahman lacks the recovery speed and nastiness that all defenders need to have regardless of his lack of a proper warm up prior to his introduction late in the game.
After splitting opinion sharply ahead of a controversial inclusion in the team, the end of Ghana’s campaign at the World Cup should signal the end of Baba Rahman’s tenure with the team for the younger generation led by Derrick Arthur Kohn and Ebenezer Annan for starters, to take over.
