Sports Minister Kofi Adams has attributed Ghana’s failure to progress at the recent tournament to a lack of cohesion and preparation, saying the Black Stars were outmatched by opponents with more established and better-coordinated squads.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday (14 July), Adams said the gap between Ghana and some of its opponents was less about individual talent and more about familiarity among players and long-term team building.

“Where you are coming against teams that possibly have had opportunity to prepare very well… and having played together for a very long time… they understood each other,” he said.

According to the minister, many of Ghana’s opponents featured players who had developed strong on-field relationships through years of playing together at club and national team level.

He said that understanding was evident in their movement and decision-making during matches.

“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.”

His remarks come after public debate over Ghana’s campaign, which drew praise for the team’s commitment but ended without qualification for the knockout stages.

Despite the disappointment, Adams said the Black Stars produced encouraging performances, highlighting the opening victory over Panama as a key result.

“When we came against England after winning against Panama… we defeated them.”

The minister also defended Ghana’s display against England, arguing the team successfully neutralised one of the tournament favourites despite the result.

“We came against England, and we showed a certain class and blocked all their movement.”

Adams further claimed Ghana was denied key officiating decisions during the match.

“Clearly, it was a game that many thought Ghana was cheated. We had a clear penalty that was not given to us, and there was another situation where an English player should have been shown a red card.”

He said building a more settled team with greater continuity would be crucial if Ghana is to compete consistently with the world’s leading football nations.