2026 FIFA World Cup: Can Ghana Finally Break the Cycle of Tournament Failure?
- Ghana’s recent tournament history has been defined by repeated disappointment, with early exits becoming a recurring pattern
- AFCON and World Cup campaigns have exposed familiar weaknesses, as the Black Stars have consistently fallen short on the big stage
- YEN.com.gh spoke to Ghanaian fans in the United States, offering insight into expectations and the mood surrounding the Black Stars
- All eyes are now on Carlos Queiroz, as the veteran coach faces the task of delivering under pressure with limited time to shape his squad
Every major football tournament Ghana has contested since 2019 has ended in huge disappointment.
These miserable memories come flooding back as the Black Stars get ready to feature in the 2026 World Cup - the country's fifth appearance on football’s biggest stage.
Source: Twitter
Recent Black Stars tournament failure
The four-time African champions have exited the group stages in three of their last four tournaments.
Tunisia eliminated the Ghanaians from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the Round of 16, winning 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate after extra time in Ismailia.
Overall, Kwesi Appiah's team avoided defeat in all four matches, winning one and drawing three, but their inability to convert promising performances into victories ultimately proved costly.
After Kurt Okraku won the October 2019 elections to become the new Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, a new era began for Ghana football.
One of the administration's key decisions was to reappoint former Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac, the Serbian tactician who had guided the national team to the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
However, Rajevac's second spell in charge proved disastrous. At the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, Ghana endured one of the worst campaigns in the nation's history, failing to win a single match and suffering another devastating group-stage exit.
The Black Stars opened their campaign with a defeat to Morocco before being held to a 1-1 draw by Gabon.
Needing a victory in their final group game to stand any chance of progressing, the West African giants instead slumped to a stunning 3-2 defeat against tournament debutants Comoros.
Ghana's frustration continued at Qatar 2022 under Otto Addo, losing 3-2 to Portugal, winning 3-2 against South Korea, and being dominated 2-0 by Uruguay to leave the World Cup winless.
People have not forgotten the Black Stars' woeful campaign at Ivory Coast 2023, where, under the stewardship of Chris Hughton, Mohammed Kudus and his teammates were sent packing home after losing 2-1 to Cape Verde and drawing 2-2 each with Egypt and Mozambique.
It was a tournament that severely damaged Richard Ofori's standing among Ghanaian supporters, with his last-gasp mistake against Mozambique becoming one of the defining moments of Ghana's disappointing tournament.
The Kurt-led GFA was still chasing its Black Stars' benchmark tournament, but what followed was another embarrassing episode, Ghana failing to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, having lost three and drawn three in the qualifiers.
That team was so poor that even Angola and Niger left Ghana with famous away victories, exposing deep cracks in the Black Stars’ form and confidence at the time.
Amid mounting pressure and widespread criticism from fans, Otto Addo remained at the helm and successfully steered Ghana to qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, offering a timely response to his critics.
However, the ex-Dortmund coach would eventually be relieved of his duties following the Black Stars’ heavy 5-1 defeat to Austria and a subsequent 2-1 loss to Germany in international friendlies, results that sealed his fate at the helm.
Source: Getty Images
Ghana at the 2026 World Cup
Now, as the world converges in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for this year's showpiece, Ghanaian fans in the diaspora and those in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani, Tamale, and Takoradi are hoping for Carlos Queiroz and his men to do better.
Gariba Raubil of YEN.com.gh, who is covering the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, spoke to some Black Stars followers ahead of the team's opening Group L clash against Panama, as well as their subsequent matches against England and Croatia.
“Unlike Gyan's era, most Ghanaians don't know many of the players. Apart from Jordan [Ayew], Antoine [Semenyo], Thomas [Partey], and Baba [Rahman], the rest are not so popular among the fans here. Nevertheless, this is the Black Stars, and so we are all ready to support the new coach and the players. I believe we would come good,” Ohio-based Emmanuel Ofori Frimpong said.
Meanwhile, while Ofori was confident about Ghana’s chances, another Ghanaian supporter, Michael Anane, who lives in Boston, was far more skeptical, expressing doubts about the Black Stars’ ability to deliver a strong performance at the tournament.
“To be honest, I’m not very confident about how far this team can go. The recent performances have not been encouraging, and although we will always support the Black Stars, I think expectations need to be managed. It may be a difficult tournament for Ghana.”
In Group L, the Ghana national football team faces Panama on June 17 in Toronto, England on June 23 in Boston, and Croatia four days later in Philadelphia.
After years of early exits and frustration, Ghana enter the 2026 FIFA World Cup searching for a long-overdue revival.
The question is whether Carlos Queiroz can defy the odds, given the limited time he had to prepare his team after replacing Otto Addo in April.
Source: YEN.com.gh
