New-Gen Ghana at Qatar 2022

Raphael Adelugba

28th November 2022 | 8:37 AM

Ghana 2022 World Cup Qatar Mohammed Kudus
Art by Charbak Dipta

This winter, Ghana will make their fourth appearance at the FIFA World Cup. Having beaten their fiercest rivals from West Africa in Nigeria on away goals to get to Qatar, the Black Stars aren’t coming to the Middle East just to take part, but to compete. 

Ghana are back at the World Cup for the first time since 2014, after an eight-year hiatus away from international football. Head coach Otto Addo has stated on numerous occasions that the job is not done yet. Like the rest of the team, he knows getting back to the World Cup stage is a fantastic accomplishment, but it’s only the beginning. 

The Black Stars enter this tournament as the lowest-ranked side, placed #61 in the world. Still, this does not represent the quality that the West African side posses and will not deter them from their aspirations going into the inaugural Winter World Cup — Group H presents Ghana with two former World Cup foes. The scars of 2010 and Luis Suárez’ handball still run deep. Revenge is on Ghana’s mind, but they’ll need to be at their best to beat their foes. 

The nation has been in quite a conflicting but painful mindset since that infamous exit. The ‘what ifs’ are still ringing around, a belief they did not fully capitalize on what had seemed at the time as one of Ghana’s best football eras. The optimism sparked from the incredible run back in 2010 has quickly dissipated within the nation’s footballing fans. A lack of ambition to push on and build on what is still, to this day, Africa’s best-ever finish at a World Cup. 

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