The Black Stars failed to maximize their home superiority as they drew goalless with Sudan in the ongoing AFCON 2025 qualifiers at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The host needed a reaction after a poor start to the AFCON qualifying campaign, picking a point from six against Angola and Niger.
READ MORE: AFCON 2025Q: Sudan won’t be lucky next time – Otto Addo
Coach Otto Addo in his pre-match interview had remarked the importance of his team not losing and needed to pick all the maximum points against Sudan.
He imbibed fresh limbs in the heart of midfield with the usage of Ibrahim Sulemana from Atlanta and changed the guard of captaincy to Thomas Partey even with the presence of Jordan Ayew in the setup.
The boys played their best football but for sheer luck, the stars failed to align in their favor seeing them pick a point to worsen their plight of securing all three maximum points in Accra.
In summary, I picked a few pointers from the game.
The Missing Fear Factor
Gone were the days when the name of the Black Stars sent shivers down the spines of other national teams. To them losing was on the cards but a respectable score margin but hoped not to be dragged in the mud with goals or outplayed by some margin. Today, that fear factor is completely lost with this new regen and this didn’t start in yesterday’s duel against Sudan. In that game, Sudan was comfortable stroking the ball around, dictating the face of the game, forcing the stars to abandon the philosophy they believed, essentially the Black Stars struggled to put the ball behind the net. It’s become worrisome if we are unable to kill games and breathe fear into opponents. We need to regain that bravery and courage with which we went about in games.
Clinical Inefficiency
While creativity has become an issue in times past. Yesterday’s game highlighted the improvement in the boy’s performance. They managed to create 7 clear goal-scoring opportunities but failed to hit the back of the net, forcing goalkeeper, Mohamed Mustafa to make 4 crucial saves to keep his side into the game at the frustration of the Ghanaian bench and the on-field players.
Mohammed Kudus
Otto Addo made a giant statement by announcing Kudus as captain ahead of the crucial tie against Sudan. This implied the coach looking at a new direction from the old regime. That decision by the coach was met with several mixed reactions which is normal considering how the BlackStars have been managed over some years. Kudus is an achiever by a mile who can rally the boys to play their heart out for the side. Yesterday’s game highlighted his importance to the setup, ratings of 7.6 clearly showed that if he is in his element the team can profit from him.
Good Clean sheet
Coach Otto Addo deployed a defense off, Seidu, Mensah, Djiku, and Salisu. These defensive quartets were resolute in the discharge of their duties. A positive the technical team can be proud of nullifying the attacking threats of the Sudan.
Several sequences in the game could have led to the team conceding goals but they stood their ground to repel any goal.
BACK TO THE OUR ROOTS
Recently, the allure of finished products has become our make fiber, particularly for the BlackStars. A chunk of the current crop is boys from the Right to Dream/Nordsjalland Academy fed to the mainstream setup. Considering these lots have something to offer based on the training they have received from their youth. The module of grooming boys using the youth systems(u17,u20,u23) proved pivotal to our success on the African continent and even more on the global stage but now that transition is broken. We now see the adverse effects of our continual decline in Africa. The latest rankings place us 65th in the World and outside the top 10 in Africa, a disastrous bitter pill that needs remedy as soon as possible. Developing the local league can be a springboard as well.
READ MORE: Match Highlights: Ghana Draw Sudan in Accra
Ghana will have to play above their weight levels in the reverse fixture of the clash against Sudan on October,14,2024.
