Sports Minister Kofi Adams has acknowledged that Ghana lacked the cohesion and understanding needed to compete consistently against the world’s best teams, saying superior preparation by opponents exposed the Black Stars’ weaknesses during the tournament.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Mr Adams said the gap between Ghana and some of its opponents was not a matter of talent alone but also the level of preparation, continuity and familiarity among players.
His remarks follow widespread debate over the Black Stars’ campaign, which drew praise for its spirited performances but ended without progression to the next stage.
According to the Minister, many of Ghana’s opponents had spent years building stable squads, with players who had developed strong chemistry through playing together over extended periods.
“Where you are coming against teams that possibly have had opportunity to prepare very well and to prepare with managements that have been with them for quite a longer time, a team that may have players that have played in the same club, maybe about four or five of them coming together and having played together for a very long time… they understood each other,” he said.
Mr Adams noted that Ghana failed to demonstrate the same level of coordination on the pitch.
“Sometimes, when one player picks a ball and is moving, you can see two, three other players moving into the space that he can lob the ball into them for them to take advantage of; we didn’t seem to have that character,” he added.
Despite the shortcomings, the Sports Minister said Ghana’s campaign had several positives, highlighting the team’s opening victory over Panama as a confidence-boosting result.
“When we came against England after winning against Panama, which also thought that if they were going to pick any three points in the group, it was going to be against Ghana, and we defeated them,” he said.
Mr Adams also defended Ghana’s display against England, insisting the Black Stars matched one of the tournament favourites and effectively neutralised their attacking threats.
“We came against England, and we showed a certain class and blocked all their movement. Whether it was hurricane or sugar cane or whatever it was, we blocked all their movement,” he stated.
He further argued that Ghana was unfortunate not to receive key decisions from match officials during the encounter.
“Clearly, it was a game that many thought that Ghana was cheated. That we had a clear penalty that was not given us, and there was a situation that another player of the English class should have been shown a red card, which was not done, and so people felt that we were cheated in that game,” he said.
