Black Stars exited at the group phase
Ghana’s campaign in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations ended on a disastrous note with the country recording its worst numbers in the history of the competition.
For the first time in the history of the tournament, the Black Stars left the competition without a single victory.
Ghana’s record at the ongoing tournament in Cameroon reads; three games, two defeats and a draw against Morocco, Comoros and Gabon respectively.
As the post-mortem continues, GhanaWeb looks at five things the country did wrongly at the tournament.
Questionable squad
Even before the tournament kicked off, Ghana were two men down. The inclusion of Kudus and Wakaso turned out to be horrible decisions.
The two players did not play in the tournament and their roles could have been handed to players who were fit and ready to play.
The likes of Philemon Baffour could not be counted on when they were needed.
Milo’s tactics
A chunk of the blame can be put at the doorstep of Milovan Rajevac. From how he set up the team to the timing of his changes, Milo let the team down on numerous occasions.
Milo’s line up which includes his decision to stick with some non-performing players also contributed to the dismal performance of Ghana at the AFCON.
The team showed no tactics, no pattern of play and no clear sign of what they were about.
Big stars disappointed
That only Djiku, Paintsil and Kyereh walked out of the tournament with their heads high tells a lot about how poor Ghana’s known stars were.
The Ayews, Thomas Partey, Kamaldeen Sulemana and the likes who prior to the start of the competition were billed to shine disappointed hugely.
The failed to turn up for the Black Stars in all games. Despite Ayew scoring an incredible goal against Gabon, his performance leaves much to be desired.
Wrong decision in crucial stages
Had Dede Ayew passed the ball to Paintsil in that Gabon game, Ghana would have perhaps won. Had Jordan been a bit more clinical instead of overelaborating, his crosses might have earned Ghana some goals. Had Paintsil been less-selfish in the Gabon game. Had Thomas Partey released the ball quickly instead of holding unnecessarily, he probably would have found the forwards with his passes.
These are some of the decision or indecisions that cost Ghana a place in the next round. There were moments Kamaldeen could have released the ball earlier than he did. The mistakes by the defense line of Amartey, Djiku, Yiadom and the likes all contributed to the poor showing in Cameroon.
No reliable source of goals
In three matches, the Black Stars scored three goals with two of those goals coming against Comoros. Ghana averaged a goal per game and for a team with a shaky defense that was not good enough.
The team could neither create nor score and Milovan Rajevac in all three games could not address this apparent problem.
At the time, Ghana left the tournament, the country recorded the third-lowest in terms of creation of chances.
As Milovan Rajevac admitted, the nation’s failure to replace Gyan is still haunting us.