Year in Review: Black Stars’ disastrous performances earn them worst national team in 2024

The Black Stars team had one of their worst performances in 2024, following their inability to make an impact in various tournaments and qualifiers.

The year started on a bad note after the team failed to go past the group stages of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.

The height of a terrible 2024 for Ghana's senior national team is the failure of the team to qualify for the 2025 AFCON.

This GhanaWeb End of Year piece details the performance of the Black Stars in 2024 under review.

2023 AFCON

The 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) took place from January 13, 2024, to February 11, 2024, in Ivory Coast.

The tournament turned out to be a disappointment for the Black Stars as they failed to win any of the three matches they played.

The Black Stars drew 2-2 with Mozambique, recorded the same scoreline against Egypt, and lost to Cape Verde 2-1.

Cape Verde topped Group C with seven points, Egypt in second place with three points, while Ghana and Mozambique occupied the third and fourth positions with two points each, thereby failing to make it to the round of 16.

This led to the sacking of coach, Chris Hughton.

2025 AFCON Qualification Fiasco

The terrible performance of the Black Stars in the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers left most Ghanaians fuming.

The Black Stars lost to Angola 1-0 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium for the first time in a long while and also drew 1-1 in the return leg.

In the next game, Ghana drew 1-1 against Niger away and lost 2-1 to them at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Black Stars drew goalless against Sudan at the Accra Sports Stadium and lost to them 2-1 in the second leg in Libya.

Ghana lost three, drew three, and won none of their six matches played in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.

The team finished bottom of Group F with just three points, while Sudan and Angola qualified from the group.

It marks the first time in 20 years that the Black Stars have not qualified for the AFCON.

2026 World Cup Qualifiers

The 2026 World Cup qualifiers are a hope for the team as they are in a good position to qualify if they get positive results in the remaining matches.

In the qualifiers, Ghana defeated Mali 2-1 in Bamako at the Stade du 26 Mars on June 6, 2024.

In their second World Cup qualifying game, the Black Stars came from behind to beat the Central African Republic 4-3 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on June 10, 2024.

In Group I, Ghana are in second place on the table with nine points after winning three matches and drawing one. Comoros are first with nine points but superior goal-difference

The remaining qualifying games will take place in March 2025.

Friendly Matches

In their first friendly game, the four-time African champions suffered a 2-1 defeat against their traditional rivals Nigeria, conceding goals in both halves.

In another friendly at Stade Marrakesh, the Black Stars lost their lead twice, resulting in a 2-2 draw against Uganda.

Watch highlights of Black Galaxies goalless draw against Nigeria



SB/EK