Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has admitted that the Black Stars lacked the cohesion and understanding required to compete consistently with the world’s top teams during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ghana’s campaign in North America ended in the Round of 32 after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia, with Jhon Arias scoring the decisive goal.

The Black Stars made a promising start to their fifth World Cup appearance, recording a 1-0 win over Panama before holding England to a goalless draw. However, a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in their final Group L match saw Ghana progress to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams before their elimination by Colombia.

Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Mr Adams, who is also the Member of Parliament for Buem, said Ghana struggled to match the level of coordination and understanding displayed by some of the tournament’s strongest teams.

According to him, the gap was not only about individual quality but also preparation, continuity and familiarity among players.

He explained that several teams at the tournament benefited from having stable squads, with players who had spent years playing together under the same technical teams, enabling them to develop a better understanding of each other’s movements and playing styles.

“Where you are coming against teams that possibly have had the opportunity to prepare very well and to prepare with managements that have been with them for quite a longer time, a team that may have players that have played in the same club, maybe about four or five of them coming together and having played together for a very long time…” he said.

The Minister acknowledged that Ghana did not demonstrate the same level of chemistry on the pitch.

“Sometimes, when one player picks a ball and is moving, you can see two, three other players moving into the space that he can lob the ball into them for them to take advantage of; we didn’t seem to have that character,” he added.

Despite Ghana’s early exit, Mr Adams insisted that the team had positives to take from the tournament.

He highlighted the opening victory over Panama and Ghana’s disciplined performance against England, saying the Black Stars showed they could compete with one of the tournament favourites.

“When we came against England after winning against Panama, which also thought that if they were going to pick any three points in the group, it was going to be against Ghana, and we defeated them,” he said.

Mr Adams also maintained that Ghana was unlucky not to benefit from key officiating decisions during the goalless draw against England.

“Clearly, it was a game that many thought that Ghana was cheated. That we had a clear penalty that was not given us, and there was a situation that another player of the English class should have been shown a red card, which was not done,” he said.

Following their World Cup exit, the Black Stars will now focus on the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Ghana has been drawn in Group C alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Somalia and The Gambia, with the qualification campaign scheduled to begin in September.