World Cup 2026: Why Carlos Queiroz Must Build Around Antoine Semenyo Despite His Ghana Struggles
Editor’s note: Antoine Semenyo has developed into one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attackers, yet his performances for the Ghana national team continue to divide opinion among fans. Following the Black Stars’ 2-0 defeat to Mexico in an international friendly on Saturday, May 23, fresh questions have emerged over how the team can maximise the qualities of one of their most in-form players ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In this opinion piece, Nomso Obiajuru argues that Ghana’s problem may not be Antoine Semenyo’s talent, but rather the national team’s inability to build a system around him.
No Ghanaian player heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup is more in-form than Antoine Semenyo. The 26-year-old has evolved from a promising Championship-level forward into one of the Premier League’s most complete players.
In the 2025/2026 season, Semenyo has scored 16 league goals playing for Bournemouth and later Manchester City, a tally that made him the highest-scoring Ghanaian in a single Premier League campaign, surpassing legends like Tony Yeboah and André Ayew. However, for Ghana, the story is painfully different.
Since making his Black Stars debut against Madagascar in June 2022, during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, Semenyo has scored just three goals in 34 appearances. For many Ghanaians, these numbers are disappointing, with some even questioning whether he can replicate his club performances on the international stage.
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It will be a complete disservice to Semenyo to attribute his Ghana struggles to poor finishing or lack of commitment. From my point of view, the real issue is that Ghana still does not understand how to use him.
Why does Antoine Semenyo struggle for Ghana?
At the club level, Semenyo thrives inside clearly defined tactical systems. Whether under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth or Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, he is deployed primarily from the right side of attack, where he can cut inside onto either foot, isolate defenders in one-on-one situations, attack half-spaces, and explode during counter-attacking moments. Semenyo is not your typical traditional touchline winger waiting for service; he is a creator.
Semenyo can shoot comfortably with both feet, press aggressively, carry the ball over long distances, and generate goals largely on his own. That is what makes him dangerous in England. With Ghana, he often looks like a completely different player.
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One of the biggest problems when Semenyo puts on the Black Stars’ jersey has been positional inconsistency. In Ghana, Semenyo has been used on the left wing, as a support striker, centrally, and occasionally deeper than he should be. A player like him cannot become the focal point of a national team when he is still searching for positional identity within it.
At Manchester City and Bournemouth, Semenyo operates inside structured systems built by the managers. These systems include spacing, movement, pressing triggers, and rehearsed attacking patterns. He knows where runners will be, knows when overlaps are coming, and most importantly, knows how transitions will unfold.
Ghana, by comparison, often attacks through moments rather than structures. Too frequently, the Black Stars rely on individual brilliance instead of coordinated attacking moves.
The Black Stars have lost all five friendlies ahead of the 2026 World Cup, and patterns in the defeats against Japan, South Korea, Austria, Germany, and most recently Mexico have shown the team’s possession phases are too slow and disconnected, midfield progression is inconsistent, and wide attackers are isolated without enough support. This directly affects a player like Semenyo.
At the club level, Semenyo receives the ball high up the pitch and closer to danger zones. For Ghana, he is often forced to drop deep, defend extensively, and carry the ball through multiple phases before even approaching the goal. In many games he has played for Ghana, he spends more time helping full-backs defensively than attacking opposition defenders. That is not where his strengths can be maximised.
Semenyo struggles with Ghana's coaching style
When assessing Semenyo's struggles for Ghana, it is important to highlight the disparity in coaching structures. Elite club football today is heavily system-driven. Managers spend countless hours designing tactics that put players in their most dangerous positions. This is different from international football, especially in Africa.
National teams have less preparation time, fewer tactical repetitions, and often depend more on adaptability and moments of improvisation. This partly explains why some foreign-born players struggle to replicate club form for their African national teams.
Semenyo grew up within structured English football systems. His game is built around tactical clarity, coordinated pressing, and intelligent spacing. On the other hand, Ghanaian football culture has historically celebrated freedom, dribbling, flair, and improvisation.
Neither philosophy is wrong, but the difference can sometimes create tactical confusion for players trying to transition between both worlds. This is why a player like Mohammed Kudus often appears more naturally adaptable in Black Stars colours. Kudus can embrace unpredictability and create magic without structure around him, but Semenyo is different.
How Carlos Queiroz can unlock Antoine Semenyo
Semenyo needs a system that amplifies his movements rather than one that expects him to improvise. This is why Ghana’s coaching staff, led by Carlos Queiroz, may need to make a difficult but necessary decision ahead of the World Cup: build the team’s attack around him.
That does not mean dropping Kudus or overlooking captain Jordan Ayew. What it simply means is redesigning Ghana’s attacking structure to maximise Semenyo’s output because he is the country’s most productive high-level attacker right now.
Carlos Queiroz must constantly play him consistently on the right. Allow Kudus to operate centrally, where he can influence transitions and creativity. This will reduce Semenyo’s defensive burden and increase support around him through overlapping full-backs and quicker midfield progression.
The timing of this conversation is important following Ghana’s 2-0 loss to Mexico. Although the game involved several fringe players fighting for places in the final World Cup squad, the structural issues remained visible. These problems include disconnected buildup, weak transitions, and a lack of attacking cohesion.
Ghana’s Black Stars do not lack stars ahead of the 2026 World Cup. What they risk lacking is a coherent attacking identity, and that identity may ultimately depend on whether Ghana can finally unlock Antoine Semenyo.
His underwhelming numbers for Ghana should not distract us from the reality that the Black Stars currently possess one of the Premier League’s most explosive forwards. If anything, those numbers should force deeper questions: Is Antoine Semenyo the one failing Ghana, or is Ghana still failing Antoine Semenyo?
Disclaimer: This opinion piece reflects the views of the writer and does not necessarily represent the editorial position or views of YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
