Stephen Appiah Worried Over the Lack of Commitment in Current Black Stars Team
- Stephen Appiah has expressed worry over the commitment level of the current Ghana mens senior team
- The Black Stars have struggled during matches in recent times and were winless in September's FIFA break
- Ghana has not progressed beyond the group stage of any international competition since AFCON 2019
Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah has bemoaned the level of commitment in the current Ghana team following the team's recent slump.
The senior national team has struggled at major competitions in the last three years, failing to go beyond the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and 2023 and the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
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Ghana picked only a point in their opening two games of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, losing at home for the first time in 24 years in the game against Angola before a draw against Niger in Morocco.
Appiah, who led Ghana to their first-ever World Cup qualification, believes the current team lacks the passion and commitment to represent the West African nation.
“Players who come to the national team have to be committed. I am not seeing that. They have to be committed because out of a population of 30-something million, you are part of a select 23. It is an honour. You are representing Ghana and you must make it worthwhile,” he said, as quoted by 3news.
"For the past five years we are struggling, we are not seeing things like that (commitment). You can be a good captain, it doesn’t mean you can win games. When you and your colleagues have the same goal, that is when you win,” he added.
Ghana drop in rankings after winless September
The Black Stars dropped in September's FIFA rankings, dropping to 70th globally following a poor run of result in the month, per My Joy Online.
Having failed to win any game this month, the team also dropped on the continental ranking, placing 14th.
The Black Stars will next face Sudan in a double-header in October in the AFCON qualifiers.
Niger hold Ghana in AFCON qualifiers
Earlier, Yen.com.gh reported that an Oumar Sako close-range strike denied Ghana victory in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after sharing the spoils with Niger in Morocco.
Alidu Seidu had given the Black Stars a first-half lead following a dominant display, but a dogged second-half display saw the host match Ghana evenly.
The Black Stars started the game brightly and just a minute into the match Inaki Williams tested the Nigerien goalkeeper.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
