Black Stars
The Black Stars' recent poor form continues as they failed to beat Namibia in a friendly in Kumasi on Monday, January 9, 2023.
Namibia held the Black Stars to a golles draw at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium as both nations wrap-up their preparations for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The team's abysmal performance has raised concerns about their readiness for the AFCON.
Failing to dominate Namibia at home, let alone score, appears to have conditioned Ghanaians for the AFCON in Ivory Coast.
Most Ghanaians are not geared up for the tournament as the friendly has cast doubt over the team ending a 42-year trophy drought.
Here are five lessons learnt from the match
Still no clear pattern of play/identity
Chris Hughton since becoming the manager has shown that his preferred formation for the team is 4-2-3-1.
Despite the system being evident, the team seems to lack ideas during build-up and attacking transition. Hence, they have failed to showcase an identical way of moving the ball around and beating the opponent's press.
The struggle in possession came to bear again against Namibia, which hindered the team from having a convincing game.
Creativity issues
The Black Stars have struggled to create many chances which has affected the team's scoring abilities.
The lack of creativity has to do with Hughton's preference for playing two defensive midfielders as his double pivot. His pivots prioritize defending and giving the defense a shield, which handicaps the team's attacking strength.
The pivots for the Namibia game were Elisha Owusu and Baba Idrissu who opted for save options in build-ups. This slowed the team's transition and helped the opponent get back in shape.
Richard Ofori's distribution is awful
Richard Ofori's telling distribution struggles could not go under the radar as he gave the ball away a couple of times and often opted to go long and end up handing possession to the opposition.
Being the first-choice goalkeeper, his inability to aid the team play from the back and causing unforced turnovers has raised concerns.
'Lonely' Inaki Williams
The issues played with an isolated striker were also evident in the game. Inaki made good runs and movement but was mostly ignored.
The striker did not have a clear sight at goal due to the team playing with less risk and failing to play to the strength of their target man.
Injury concerns deepen
The Black Stars missed some key players due to injury situations. Chris Hughton during his post-match confirmed that all the injuries are minor and that resting the players was the right decision.
The players who missed the game through a knock or injury include Mohammed Kudus Mohammed, Salis Samed, and Antoine Semenyo.
EE/EK
