Wales v Ghana Friendly International

A Dark Cloud Over the Black Stars

Andy Greeves watched Ghana's final preparation match ahead of this month's FIFA World Cup as the Black Stars took on Wales in Cardiff.

(Photographs by Josh Thomas)

Wales v Ghana. — Wales v Ghana Cardiff City Stadium © Josh Thomas

While Ghana's qualification campaign for their fifth World Cup was relatively straightforward, the Black Stars' preparations for the tournament have been anything but…

On 31 March, just 72 days before the start of the World Cup, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) decided to sack Otto Addo - the manager that guided them through a successful qualifying campaign in which they topped CAF Group I with eight wins and just one defeat in their 10 fixtures.

Opinion on Addo's dismissal was split amongst Black Stars fans. Some questioned the logic - and certainly the timing - of getting rid of a manager who fulfilled his main objective in achieving qualification for the World Cup. Others pointed to the failure of Otto's Black Stars to make it to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (for the first time since 2004) and abject displays in recent friendlies, which included a 5-1 thrashing by Austria at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.

Carlos Queiroz

It's fair to say Otto's replacement - former Portugal and Real Madrid head coach, Carlos Queiroz - has divided opinion too. His decision to omit the likes of André Ayew and Derrick Köhn from recent squads drew criticism with Ghanian sports broadcaster Countryman Songo (Patrick Osei Agyemang) describing the Black Stars' recent squad selection as "embarrassing". He even suggested that Queiroz might not have full control of who he calls-up. "I do not accept this Black Stars squad. Carlos Queiroz has no hands in this squad," he stated.

In his most recent international head coach roles with Iran, Colombia, Egypt, Qatar and Oman, Queiroz was renowned for his defensive approach. Looking to neutralise their opponents in central midfield, his teams often shaped up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, deploying a low block. This pragmatic approach is hard for some Black Stars fans to stomach. Just 16 years ago in South Africa, the country took great pride in reaching the last eight of the World Cup playing a brand of energetic, attacking football under the management of Milovan Rajevac.

The ambivalence towards Queiroz in some quarters has been intensified by the availability of manager Hervé Renard following his dismissal by Saudi Arabia in April. A two-time AFCON winner with Zambia and Ivory Coast, Renard was Claude Le Roy's assistant manager during his time in charge of Ghana between 2006 and 2008. Renard has been strongly linked with Ghana's top job over the years and has reportedly been courted by the GFA on more than one occasion. He is the man many Black Stars fans would like to see in charge of their national team.

Until the end of this World Cup at least though, Queiroz is Ghana's head coach. Fast approaching his 40th anniversary as a manager, Queiroz can draw on the experience of leading teams at four previous World Cups - with Portugal in 2010 and Iran in 2014, 2018 and 2022. But with such a short amount of time together with his players, there will surely be a level of questioning still in Queiroz's mind over his best starting XI and tactical approach ahead of their opening Group L fixture against Panama in Toronto on 18 June.

Queiroz's tournament plans have already been hampered by the absence of Mohammed Kudus, Mohammed Salisu and Alexander Djiku through injury. One of the last nations to name their 26-man squad for this World Cup, few teams go into this tournament having had such chaotic preparations.

Cardiff, Wales v Ghana. — Match action, Wales v Ghana © Josh Thomas

Support

The one great certainty when it comes to the Ghana national team is the fervent following of their supporters. A near packed away end at the Cardiff City Stadium on 2 June for their friendly international against Wales brought noise, energy and colour for a relatively tame post-season clash that drew a crowd of just 11,806.

Shaping up in a 3-4-3 formation - effectively a 3-5-1 when not in possession - Ghana were, as expected, rigid and hard-working in their first match under Queiroz, who was absent for their friendly against Mexico last month for personal reasons. But with star man Antoine Semenyo an unused substitute for the game against Wales and Iñaki Williams appearing for the final 15 minutes only, the Black Stars largely lacked flair. They had just 39% possession of the ball in the first half and 41% overall.

There was however a moment of real quality provided by 22-year-old substitute Ernest Nuamah on 67 minutes. Running with the ball from inside his own half and playing a one-two with Abdul Fatawu en route to the Wales penalty area, Nuamah eventually forced a good save from Karl Darlow. After his follow up struck the woodwork, fellow substitute Caleb Yirenkyi was on hand to tap home the rebound. Replacing Abdul Fatawu at the start of the second half, Nuamah was the game's star performer. On the evidence of this match, not only will he be an able replacement for the injured Mohammed Kudus at this World Cup, but a player like Semenyo or Williams who is capable of grabbing a match by the scruff of the neck.

Nuamah reportedly came close to joining Everton last summer and there is bound to be even more interest in the Lyon wide man after this year's World Cup. The goal threat and tireless running of captain Jordan Ayew and the trickery of Abdul Fatawu also stood out on the night and offered reasons why Ghana, despite their difficult World Cup preparations, can still be optimistic about their chances of making a mark in North America.

Craig Bellamy

Speaking to the media after the match, Wales manager Craig Bellamy also saw positives for Ghana.

"You have some key players who weren't involved today," said Bellamy. "I like Iñaki Williams, Semenyo. You're a dangerous team in transition because of the speed you always have in the top line - Ghana have had that for a number of years.

"If you can keep it tight... counter-attacking ability... your first game is Panama, your tournament is going to be decided on that game. If you win one game, you might get into the knockout stage.

"Croatia and England [Ghana's other opponents at this summer's World Cup] are going to be two really difficult games. The way you support your team, you never know."

Wales

For Wales, the match against Ghana served as a taster of 'what might have been', as they took on a World Cup-bound nation. The Dragons reached the play-off phase of World Cup qualifying before losing 4-2 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-finals.

While Ghana fans have concerns about the kind of football they might play under Queiroz, there are no such worries for Wales supporters, who have witnessed some breathtaking displays under Bellamy - including a 7-1 thrashing of North Macedonia and a performance which the head coach described as "close to perfect". A stoppage time equaliser from Lewis Koumas against Ghana meanwhile ensured Wales' third consecutive 1-1 draw in Cardiff in 2026.

For years - 58 to be precise - Wales were major tournament bridesmaids in between travelling to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden and their first European Championships in France in 2016. Euro semi-finalists that year, Wales also made it to their first World Cup in 64 years in 2022 before losing qualifying play-off matches for both Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

Euro 2028

As co-hosts of Euro 2028 along with England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, the Dragons will be desperate to appear at their third European Championships in two years' time, not least as they will play all three Group A fixtures in Cardiff should they qualify. With Bellamy at the helm, Wales will certainly fancy their chances of making it.

For Ghana meanwhile, their time is now. As the Black Stars look to put a turbulent few months behind them, they will also be looking to improve on their past two World Cup showings, where they were eliminated from the competition at the group phase in both 2014 and 2022. Make it to the knockout phase and Queiroz's appointment will surely be considered a success. Whether he remains in charge of the national team in a month's time, only time will tell…