Former Black Stars midfielder Agyemang Badu believes Ghana’s recent struggles cannot be attributed solely to the consecutive defeats to Côte d’Ivoire and The Gambia, arguing that the problems confronting the national team are much deeper and have developed over several years.
Ghana opened their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire before suffering a 4-2 home loss to The Gambia, leaving the Black Stars without a point from their opening two Group C matches.
The defeats also contributed to Carlos Queiroz’s departure, with the Ghana Football Association and the Portuguese coach mutually agreeing to end their working relationship.
But Badu says focusing only on the two latest results risks overlooking the broader issues that have affected the Black Stars in recent years.
Speaking exclusively to Citi Sports, the former midfielder said the decline has been developing for years and requires a more fundamental response.
“You see, we are basing the team only about the Côte d’Ivoire game and the Gambia game. No, the problem goes beyond these two matches. This has been there for the past six years because, as you mentioned yourself, it was 2009 that you have that transition of the players you mentioned.”
🎥 🇬🇭 “We had a lot of first-timers in our team, and learning to play in front of Ghanaians and changing the mentality cannot happen overnight.”
Black Stars defender Gideon Mensah after the 4-2 defeat to The Gambia at home.#CitiSports pic.twitter.com/Wf6aJPbcOl
— Citi Sports (@CitiSportsGHA) September 30, 2026
Badu believes Ghana’s difficulties are linked to the failure to maintain a consistent pathway for developing and transitioning players into the senior national team.
He questioned whether the Black Stars’ struggles should be viewed simply through the results of individual matches or coaches, pointing instead to a longer-term decline in the structures feeding the national team.
“Since 2009, have you seen your team qualify for World Cup? No. So, the trend goes beyond the Black Stars and it goes beyond these two matches. It has been like this,” he said.
Ghana’s recent record provides context to Badu’s concerns.
The Black Stars exited the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage after losing to Comoros, while they failed to progress from their group at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They also exited the 2023 AFCON at the group stage without winning a match and subsequently failed to qualify for the 2025 tournament in Morocco.
The current AFCON qualifying campaign has added further pressure, with Ghana now facing the prospect of having to recover from a difficult start under a new technical team.
For Badu, however, the immediate question is not simply who replaces Queiroz, but what Ghana intends to do differently going forward.
“But you see, my question is, what will happen next?” he asked.
The former Black Stars midfielder has previously advocated for greater integration between Ghana’s youth national teams and the senior side, arguing that a structured pathway from the U17 and U20 levels through to the Black Stars could help restore continuity and build a team for the long term.
