Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football, doing it since 1957. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team.[6] The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana. It is governed by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) the governing body for football in Ghana and the oldest football association in Africa (founded in 1920). Prior to 1957, the team played as the Gold Coast. The team is a member of both FIFA and CAF.
| Nickname(s) | Black Stars |
|---|---|
| Association | Ghana Football Association (GFA) |
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) |
| Sub-confederation | WAFU (West Africa) |
| Head coach | vacant [1] |
| Captain | André Ayew |
| Most caps | André Ayew (113) |
| Top scorer | Asamoah Gyan (51) |
| FIFA code | GHA |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | 58 3 (22 December 2022)[2] |
| Highest | 14 (April–May 2007, February 2008) |
| Lowest | 89 (June 2004) |
| First international | |
| Gold Coast and British Togoland 1–0 Nigeria (Accra, British Gold Coast; 28 May 1950) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Nyasaland 0–12 Gold Coast (Nyasaland; 15 October 1962) Nyasaland 0–12 Ghana [3] (Malawi; 12 December 1965)[3][4] | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana (Leon, Mexico; 2 October 1968) | |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2006) |
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2010) |
| Africa Cup of Nations | |
| Appearances | 23 (first in 1963) |
| Best result | Champions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982) |
| African Nations Championship | |
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2009) |
| Best result | Runners-up (2009, 2014) |
Ghana qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2006. The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), while finishing as runners-up five times (1968, 1970, 1992, 2010, and 2015).[7] After going through 2005 unbeaten, the Ghana national football team won the FIFA Best Mover of the Year Award and reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became only the third African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, and in 2014 they competed in their third consecutive World Cup.
History
On 19 August 1962 at the Accra Sports Stadium, they played Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish champions, former European champions and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.[8]
Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and they won successive African Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved its record win, 13–2 away to Kenya, after the second of these. They reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Their domination of this tournament earned them the nickname "the Black Stars of Africa" in the 1960s.[9]
They failed to qualify for 3 successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, and qualified for the Olympic Games football tournaments, becoming the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to qualify for the Games,[10] reaching the quarter-finals in 1964 and withdrawing after qualifying in 1976 and 1980. They later won the 1982 African Cup of Nations. After 3 failures to reach the tournament final, the 1992 African Cup of Nations saw it finish second.
Prior to the year 2000, disharmony among the squad which led to parliamentary and executive intervention to settle issues between 2 squad members, Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah in the 1990s, may have played some part in the failure of the team to build on the successes of the national underage teams in the 1990s, and a generation of Black Stars players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the "core" of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations, and were undefeated for a year in 2005 and reached the final tournament of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Black Stars started by succumbing to a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, and wins over Czech Republic (2–0) and United States (2–1) saw it through to the second round, where it lost 3–0 to Brazil.[11]
Under head coach Milovan Rajevac, the Black Stars went on to secure a 100% record in its qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, it is in Group D with Germany, Serbia and Australia. It reached the round of 16 where it played the United States, winning 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. It then lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, having missed a penalty kick in extra time after what would have been the winning goal to send Ghana to the semi-finals was prevented by Luis Suárez's handball, who was then shown a red card for his actions.[12]
In 2013 it became the only team in Africa to reach 4 consecutive semi-finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations twice, the first time since between 1963 and 1970.[13]
It was sufficiently ranked by FIFA to start its qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in the Second round. It won the group, and in the following round qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in November 2013, beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in a 2-legged play-off.[14] It was drawn in Group G for the finals, where it faced Germany, Portugal, and the United States.[15] It exited in the group stages recording 1 draw and was the only team to not lose to Germany in the tournament.
In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, it reached the final, to be denied the title on penalties against Ivory Coast. While its 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign ended in a 4th-place finish - the third one in 4 consecutive editions of the tournament - in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, it finished behind Egypt and Uganda in their final group. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, it was eliminated by Tunisia in the Round of 16. In 2021, Rajevac was brought back, and the team ended up failing to win a match at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations where it lost 2–3 to debutants the Comoros after an André Ayew red card to finish bottom of its group and thus fail to progress beyond the group stage for the first time since 2006. It drew 0–0 vs Nigeria and drew 1–1 in Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the away goals rule.[16]
Team image
Kits and crest
Adopted following the independence of Ghana in 1957, the black star has been included in its kits. The Black Stars' kits were sponsored by Puma SE from 2005, with the deal ending in 2014.[17]
The Black Star kit is used instead of the original gold, green, and red coloured association football kit based on the colors of the Ghana flag. The Black Stars have used an all-white and partly black kit which was worn from the years 1957 to 1989 and from 2006 until December 2014.
Between 1990 and 2006 the Ghana national 3 team used the kit in the colours of the national flag of Ghana, with gold, green and red used, as in the team's crest and also known as the Pan-African colours. The gold with green and red kit concept and design was used in the 60s and 70s, and designed with gold and green vertical stripes and red shoulders. An all black second kit was introduced in 2008 and in 2015, Black Stars' gold-red-green coloured kit and all black coloured kit is to be reassigned to the position of 1st and 2nd kits following the induction of a brown with blue and gold coloured Black Stars 3rd kit in 2012.[18][19]
The team's kit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was ranked as the best kit of the tournament by BuzzFeed.[20]
2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1st and 2nd kits | ||
Kit suppliers
Grounds
There is no fixed home stadium. World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches have been played at the Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi, the Len Clay Stadium, Kumasi Sports Stadium and Abrankese Stadium in Kumasi, the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in Cape Coast, the Accra Sports Stadium in the Accra and the Tamale Stadium in Tamale. Some smaller, regional stadia (stadiums) were used in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying and 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification qualifying campaigns.
The training facilities and training grounds are located at Agyeman Badu Stadium, Berekum Sports Stadium in Brong-Ahafo, the Tema Sports Stadium in Tema and the multi-functional Lizzy Sports Complex in Legon.[21]
Organization and finance
The Black Stars had no official head because of "corrupt" practices by the then president, Kwesi Nyantakyi.[22] and vice-president George Afriyie,[23] with Frank Davis as director of football, and Edward Bawa as treasurer.[24] The Ghana Football Association (GFA) signed a CN¥92.2 million (US$15 million) deal with Ghanaian state-run oil and gas exploration corporation, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), to sponsor the Black Stars and the renewable contract saw the oil and gas exploration corporation become the global headline sponsor of the Black Stars, with a yearly Black Stars player salary wage bill,[25][26] following the gold mining corporations Ashanti Goldfields Corporation and Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), which had been sponsoring the Black Stars since 2005.[27]
On 28 August 2013, Ghana Football Association (GFA) launched a TV channel and named GFA TV. The channel has the exclusive rights to broadcast all the Black Stars' matches.[28] In November 2013, the Black Stars signed a 2013–2015 CN¥30.6 million (US$5 million) and an additional classified multi-million private bank sponsorship deal with the Ghanaian state-run private banking institution UniBank.[29]
Supporters
The Black Stars maintain an average stadium match attendance of 60,000+ and a match attendance high of 80,000+, such as in the case of its 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay in which was attended by 84,017 spectators.[30] Ghana's match against England on 29 March 2011 had the largest away following for any association football national team since the re-opening of Wembley Stadium in 2007.[31] The match was watched by 700 million people around the world.[31]
Following the team's appearances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments they were greeted by some hundred avid fans dancing and singing at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.[32]
Rivalries
A rivalry is with the Super Eagles, the Nigeria national team. The "Battle of Supremacy on the Gulf of Guinea" is between 2 of the "most successful teams on the African continent".[33] The proximity of the 2 countries to each other, a dispute between the different association football competitions and wider diplomatic competition for influence across West Africa add to this rivalry.[33][34] The match between these 2 countries is called the Jollof derby.[35]
Media and arts
Match schedules are broadcast in English as in the case of inter-continental matches and in Akan nationally by Adom TV, PeaceFM, AdomFM and HappyFM. During the scheduled qualification for the 2014 World Cup national broadcaster GTV, a sub-division of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), broadcast to the Ghanaian public home qualifiers with away qualifiers broadcast by the satellite television broadcasting corporation Viasat 1. The friendly match against Turkey in August 2013 was televised by Viasat 1 and the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 Inter-Continental Championships are scheduled for public broadcast by the corporations GFA TV, GBC and Viasat 1.[36]
Products including books, documentary films, Azonto dances and songs have been made in the name of the team. These may be intended with commercial motives and are focused on previous and future World Cups or Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
- Books: books have been published on the team's history and participation in tournaments. These include Ghana, The Rediscovered Soccer Might: Watch Out World!,[37] about the history and performance of the Black Stars and association football national teams that the Black Stars have played against, and The Black Stars of Ghana by Alan Whelan;[38] about Black Stars commencing their progress through the final rounds of the 2010 World Cup and into the quarter-finals.
- Documentary films: In 2010 Miracle Films Ghana Limited showcased a vintage documentary film picture, Kwame Nkrumah & Ghana's Black Stars, about Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah "Africa's man of the 2nd millennium" and "Pan-African pioneer",[39] who invested energy into making Ghana's association football national team – the Black Stars – a force in African soccer.[40]
- Nickname: The Black Star Line, a shipping industry line incorporated by the founder of the Back-to-Africa movement, civil rights movement leader Marcus Garvey and the organiser of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) from 1919 to 1922, gives the Ghana team its nicknames, the Black Stars of West Africa and the Black Stars of Africa.[40]
- Dances: upon the Black Stars scoring against opposition teams, dance forms of the Ghanaian Azonto were performed by Black Stars players in their goal celebrations in match victories at the 2010 World Cup and in 2013, an elite dance version of the Ghanaian Azonto named; "(Akan: Mmonko)" (shrimp), was established and showcased at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations by the Black Stars players.[41] Black Stars goal celebrations in match victories at the 2014 World Cup and upon scoring against opposition teams, are to establish and showcase Alkayida.[42]
- Songs: On occasions of past World Cups or African Championships, a number of musicians with music producers created hiplife football songs which were composed in the Akan language – the 2006 World Cup song, "Akan: Tuntum Nsorom Ye Ko Yen Anim", (Black Stars, We are moving forward) musical composed by the Musicians Union of Ghana, is to motivate the Black Stars to perform creditably in its quest for the capturing of the World Cup trophy.[43] Black Stars' captain and top-goalscorer Asamoah Gyan recorded and released a Hiplife song with 'Castro The Destroyer', where he features under the alias 'Baby Jet'. The song is entitled "African Girls" and is sung in the Akan language and was launched onto the Ghanaian screens, continental West Africa screens and onto the Sub-Saharan Africa screens. The music video shows the "Asamoah Gyan Dance" goal celebration which he demonstrated at the 2010 World Cup. The song "African Girls" won an award at the Ghana Music Awards in 2011. The 2010 World Cup song, "Ghana Black Stars (Official Song 2010 World Cup)" composed by Ghanaian hiplife music group "Kings and Queens Entertainment" approved by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as GFA has indicated that the Black Stars are a protected brand.[44]
Fixtures and results
The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2022
| 10 January 2021 AFCON | Morocco | 1–0 | Ghana | Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| 17:00 UTC+1 |
| Report | Stadium: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo Referee: Joshua Bondo (Botswana) |
| 14 January 2021 AFCON | Gabon | 1–1 | Ghana | Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| 20:00 UTC+1 |
| Report |
| Stadium: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo Referee: Lahlou Benbraham (Algeria) |
| 18 January 2021 AFCON | Ghana | 2–3 | Comoros | Garoua, Cameroon |
| 20:00 UTC+1 | Report |
| Stadium: Roumdé Adjia Stadium Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali) |
| 25 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Ghana | 0–0 | Nigeria | Kumasi, Ghana |
| 19:30 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium Referee: Redouane Jiyed (Morocco) |
| 29 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Nigeria | 1–1 (1–1 (a) agg.) | Ghana | Abuja, Nigeria |
| 18:00 UTC+1 |
| Report |
| Stadium: Moshood Abiola National Stadium Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia) |
| 1 June 2023 AFCON qualification | Ghana | 3–0 | Madagascar | Cape Coast, Ghana |
| 19:00 UTC±0 |
| Report | Stadium: Cape Coast Sports Stadium Referee: Mahamadou Kéïta (Mali) |
| 5 June 2023 AFCON qualification | Central African Republic | 1–1 | Ghana | Luanda, Angola |
| 14:00 UTC+1 |
| Report |
| Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon) |
| 23 September Friendly | Brazil | 3–0 | Ghana | Le Havre, France |
| 19:30 UTC+2 |
| Report | Stadium: Stade Océane Referee: Mikael Lesage (France) |
| 17 November Friendly | Ghana | 2–0 | Switzerland | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| 14:00 UTC+4 | Report | Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Attendance: 650 Referee: Ahmed Issa (United Arab Emirates) |
| 24 November 2022 FIFA World Cup | Portugal | 3–2 | Ghana | Doha, Qatar |
| 19:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Stadium 974 Attendance: 42,662 Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States) |
| 28 November 2022 FIFA World Cup | South Korea | 2–3 | Ghana | Al Rayyan, Qatar |
| 16:00 UTC+3 |
| Report | Stadium: Education City Stadium Attendance: 43,983 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England) |
| 2 December 2022 FIFA World Cup | Ghana | 0–2 | Uruguay | Al Wakrah, Qatar |
| 18:00 UTC+3 | Report |
| Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium Attendance: 43,443 Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany) |
2023
| March 2023 AFCON qualification | Ghana | v | Angola | Ghana |
| --:-- UTC±0 | Report |
| March 2023 AFCON qualification | Angola | v | Ghana | Angola |
| --:-- UTC+1 | Report |
| September 2023 AFCON qualification | Madagascar | v | Ghana | Madagascar |
| --:-- UTC+3 |
| September 2023 AFCON qualification | Ghana | v | Central African Republic | Ghana |
| --:-- UTC±0 |
Coaching staff
- As of 9 February 2022[45]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | vacant[46] |
| Technical advisor | Chris Hughton |
| Assistant coach | George Boateng |
| Assistant coach | Mas-Ud Didi Dramani |
| Goalkeeping coach | Richard Kingson |
Coaching history
Since 1957 it has had 32 different head coaches and 3 caretakers. C. K. Gyamfi led the Black Stars to 3 Africa Cup of Nations titles – in 1963, 1965 and 1982 – making Gyamfi the "joint most successful coach" in the competition's history.[47] Fred Osam Duodu led the Black Stars to their 1978 Africa Cup of Nations title;[48] Ratomir Dujković, Milovan Rajevac, and James Kwesi Appiah have led the Black Stars to World Cup qualification.[49][50] 2 Serbian managers guided Ghana to the 2 first World Cup debuts. The team is being headed by Otto Addo who is the head coach and supported by Chris Hughton, George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as coaches of the senior national team, the Black Stars until the end of December 2022.[51]
Players
Current squad
The following were named to the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad and the preceding friendly match against Switzerland.[52][53]
Caps and goals correct as of 2 December 2022, after the match against Uruguay.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Lawrence Ati-Zigi | 29 November 1996 | 14 | 0 | St. Gallen |
| 12 | GK | Ibrahim Danlad | 2 December 2002 | 4 | 0 | Asante Kotoko |
| 16 | GK | Abdul Manaf Nurudeen | 8 February 1999 | 2 | 0 | Eupen |
| 2 | DF | Tariq Lamptey | 30 September 2000 | 4 | 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 3 | DF | Denis Odoi | 27 May 1988 | 5 | 0 | Club Brugge |
| 4 | DF | Mohammed Salisu | 17 April 1999 | 6 | 2 | Southampton |
| 14 | DF | Gideon Mensah | 18 July 1998 | 13 | 0 | Auxerre |
| 15 | DF | Joseph Aidoo | 29 September 1995 | 11 | 0 | Celta Vigo |
| 17 | DF | Baba Rahman | 2 July 1994 | 51 | 1 | Reading |
| 18 | DF | Daniel Amartey | 21 December 1994 | 49 | 0 | Leicester City |
| 23 | DF | Alexander Djiku | 9 August 1994 | 20 | 1 | Strasbourg |
| 26 | DF | Alidu Seidu | 4 June 2000 | 6 | 0 | Clermont |
| 5 | MF | Thomas Partey | 13 June 1993 | 43 | 13 | Arsenal |
| 6 | MF | Elisha Owusu | 7 November 1997 | 3 | 0 | Gent |
| 8 | MF | Daniel-Kofi Kyereh | 8 March 1996 | 18 | 0 | SC Freiburg |
| 10 | MF | André Ayew | 17 December 1989 | 113 | 24 | Al-Sadd |
| 13 | MF | Daniel Afriyie | 26 June 2001 | 7 | 3 | Zürich |
| 20 | MF | Mohammed Kudus | 2 August 2000 | 21 | 7 | Ajax |
| 21 | MF | Salis Abdul Samed | 26 March 2000 | 4 | 0 | Lens |
| 7 | FW | Abdul Fatawu Issahaku | 8 March 2004 | 14 | 1 | Sporting CP |
| 9 | FW | Jordan Ayew | 11 September 1991 | 87 | 19 | Crystal Palace |
| 11 | FW | Osman Bukari | 13 December 1998 | 9 | 2 | Red Star Belgrade |
| 19 | FW | Iñaki Williams | 15 June 1994 | 6 | 0 | Athletic Bilbao |
| 22 | FW | Kamaldeen Sulemana | 15 February 2002 | 15 | 0 | Rennes |
| 24 | FW | Kamal Sowah | 9 January 2000 | 1 | 0 | Club Brugge |
| 25 | FW | Antoine Semenyo | 7 January 2000 | 6 | 1 | Bournemouth |
Recent call-ups
The following have also been called up in the past twelve months.
Local team
The football association of Ghana (GFA) administers national teams at different levels, including 1 for the local national team. The team is restricted to players who only play in the local league, thus the Ghana Premier League. It is nicknamed Local Black Stars.[54][55][56]
Records
- As of 2 December 2022[57]
- Players in bold are still active with Ghana.
Most appearances
| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | André Ayew | 113 | 24 | 2007– |
| 2 | Asamoah Gyan | 109 | 51 | 2003–2019 |
| 3 | Richard Kingson | 93 | 1 | 1996–2011 |
| 4 | John Paintsil | 91 | 0 | 2001–2013 |
| 5 | Jordan Ayew | 87 | 19 | 2009– |
| 6 | Harrison Afful | 86 | 0 | 2008–2018 |
| 7 | Sulley Muntari | 84 | 20 | 2002–2014 |
| 8 | John Mensah | 81 | 3 | 2001–2012 |
| 9 | Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu | 78 | 11 | 2008–2017 |
| 10 | Kwadwo Asamoah | 74 | 4 | 2008–2019 |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asamoah Gyan | 51 | 109 | 0.47 | 2003–2019 |
| 2 | Edward Acquah | 45 | 41 | 1.1 | 1956–1964 |
| 3 | Kwasi Owusu | 36 | 45 | 0.8 | 1968–1976 |
| 4 | Tony Yeboah | 29 | 59 | 0.49 | 1985–1997 |
| 5 | Karim Abdul Razak | 25 | 62 | 0.4 | 1975–1988 |
| 6 | André Ayew | 24 | 113 | 0.21 | 2007– |
| 7 | Wilberforce Mfum | 20 | 26 | 0.77 | 1960–1968 |
| Sulley Muntari | 20 | 84 | 0.24 | 2002–2014 | |
| 9 | Osei Kofi | 19 | 25 | 0.76 | 1964–1973 |
| Abedi Pele | 19 | 73 | 0.26 | 1982–1998 | |
| Jordan Ayew | 19 | 87 | 0.22 | 2009– |
Captains
- Awuley Quaye (1978)
- Kuuku Dadzie (1980–1982)[58]
- Emmanuel Quarshie (1982–1984)
- Isaac Paha (1984)
- James Kwesi Appiah (1984–1992)[59]
- Abedi Pele (1992–1998)[60]
- Charles Akonnor (1999–2001)
- Stephen Appiah (2002–2010)[61]
- John Mensah (2010–2012)[62]
- Asamoah Gyan (2012–2019)[63]
- André Ayew (2019–)[64][65]
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
Ghana have qualified for 4 FIFA World Cup tournaments; 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022. In 2006, it was the only African side to advance to the second round of the World Cup in Germany, and was the 6th nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.[66] It had the youngest team in the 2006 edition with an average age of 23 years and 352 days,[66] and were praised for their improving performance.[67][68] FIFA ranked it 13th out of the 32 countries who competed in the tournament.[69]
In the 2010 World Cup, it progressed beyond the group stages of the World Cup in South Africa, and reached the quarter-finals where it was eliminated by Uruguay. It was defeated on penalty shootout after Luis Suárez hand-balled on the goal line into extra time, preventing a possible winning goal.[70] Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2010 edition, FIFA ranked it 7th.[71]
After beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in November 2013, it qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[72] It was drawn in Group G with Germany, United States and Portugal.[73] For the first time, it fell in the group stage, tying Germany 2–2 and losing to the United States and Portugal by 2–1.[74]
| Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup Finals | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 23 | −5 |
| World Cup Quals (H) | 34 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 78 | 19 | +59 |
| World Cup Quals (A) | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 37 | 42 | −5 |
| Total | 82 | 38 | 19 | 25 | 133 | 84 | +49 |
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Campaign | |||
| 1930 | Part of United Kingdom | Part of United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||
| 1934 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1938 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1962 | Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1962 | ||||||||||
| 1966 | Withdrew | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1974 | Did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 1974 | ||||||||||
| 1978 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1978 | |||||||||||
| 1982 | Withdrew | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1990 | ||||||||||
| 1994 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1994 | |||||||||||
| 1998 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 1998 | |||||||||||
| 2002 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 2002 | |||||||||||
| 2006 | Round of 16 | 13th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 2006 | |||
| 2010 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 8 | 2010 | |||
| 2014 | Group stage | 25th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 6 | 2014 | |||
| 2018 | Did not qualify | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 2018 | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2022 | |||
| 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | Quarter-finals | 4/22 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 88 | 43 | 22 | 19 | 128 | 61 | Total | |||
Africa Cup of Nations
It has won the Africa Cup of Nations 4 times – in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982 – bettered by Cameroon and Egypt. As the first winner of 3 Nations Cup tournaments, it obtained the right to permanently hold the trophy in 1978.[75] It qualified for the tournament 23 times, finishing as runners-up 5 times, third once, and 4th 4 times. Thus, Ghana has the second-most final game appearances at the tournament behind Egypt (who has 10) with 9. It holds the record of most consecutive semi-final appearances, with 6 straight between 2008 and 2017.
| Final | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| 1959 | Not affiliated to CAF | |||||||
| 1962 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1963 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 1965 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 |
| 1968 | Second place | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 |
| 1970 | Second place | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 1972 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1974 | ||||||||
| 1976 | ||||||||
| 1978 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 1980 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1982 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| 1984 | Group stage | 6th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 1986 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1988 | ||||||||
| 1990 | ||||||||
| 1992 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 1994 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1996 | 4th place | 4th | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| 1998 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 2000 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 2002 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2004 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2006 | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 2008 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
| 2010 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 2012 | 4th place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| 2013 | 4th place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 |
| 2015 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| 2017 | 4th place | 4th | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 2019 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 2021 | Group stage | 19th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 2023 | ||||||||
| Total | 25/35 | 4 titles | 102 | 54 | 21 | 27 | 133 | 87 |
- *Denotes place was determined via penalty shoot-out.
African Nations Championship
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Group stage | 14th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2016 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2018 | |||||||||
| 2020 | |||||||||
| 2022 | Qualified | ||||||||
| Total | 3/7 | 0 title(s) | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 11 | |
West African Nations Cup and WAFU Nations Cup
| West African Nations Cup [SCSA Zone III] | West African Football Union Nations Cup
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Olympic Games
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London 1908 | Did not participate | |||||||
| Stockholm 1912 | ||||||||
| Antwerp 1920 | ||||||||
| Paris 1924 | ||||||||
| Amsterdam 1928 | ||||||||
| Berlin 1936 | ||||||||
| London 1948 | ||||||||
| Helsinki 1952 [a] | ||||||||
| Melbourne 1956 | ||||||||
| Rome 1960 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Tokyo 1964 | Quarter-final | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Mexico 1968 | Round 1 | 12th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| Munich 1972 | Round 1 | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| Montreal 1976 | Withdrew after qualifying | |||||||
| Moscow 1980 | ||||||||
| Los Angeles 1984 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Seoul 1988 | ||||||||
| Total | 4/17 | 0 title(s) | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 31 |
- a. Note: The Gold Coast team established in 1950; country known as Gold Coast then renamed Ghana in 1957, not competing in international tournaments and not being part of neither FIFA nor CAF until 1958, and therefore recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Honours
Last updated 8 February 2015
Intercontinental
- FIFA World Cup
- Round of 16: 2006 FIFA World Cup,
- Quarter final: 2010 FIFA World Cup
Continental
- Winners: 1983, 2006, 2010
Continental subregion
- Nkrumah Cup[76]
- Winners: 1959, 1960, 1963
- Third place: 1991
Other
- Winners: 1962
- Runners up: 1982
- Samuel K. Doe Cup 1986[79]
- Runners up: 1986
- Black Stars Tournament 1993 (Libreville, Gabon)[80]
- Third: 1993
- Great Artificial River Championship 1999 (Libya)[81]
- Runners up: 1999
- Third: 2003
- Winner: 2005
References
- ^ "GFA to name new Black Stars coach by end of January". Ghanaweb. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ a b Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) – List of International Matches. 8 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF
- ^ "Kenya International matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 April 2007.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Association, Ghana Football. "Black Stars". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "African Football: The early years". BBC. 16 January 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2004.
- ^ "International Friendlies of Real Madrid CF 1960–1979". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ "World Cup 2010: Ghana ready to fulfil their destiny". The Guardian. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ Anthony, Scott (26 May 2017). "The Stanley Matthews football revolution made in Ghana". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ Joshua Ansah (13 April 2013). "Where is Ghana's 2006 World Cup squad – Part 2". goal.com. Goal.com. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ Paul Wilson (2 July 2013). "World Cup 2010: Uruguay make Gyan and Ghana pay the penalty". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ . mtnfootball.com. MTN Group. 3 February 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ "Egypt 2–1 Ghana (Agg 3–7): Zaki and Gedo strike but Black Stars win through". goal.com. Goal.com. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ . fifa.com. FIFA. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ "Nigeria vs. Ghana". ESPN. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ^ "FA extends Puma deal to 2014". ghanafa.org. Ghana Football Association (GFA). 23 January 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ "Black Stars 3rd Kit". ghanasoccernet.com. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Black Stars To Play State Envoy in Friendly This Afternoon". ghanasoccernet.com. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Brazil 2014: Ghana's jersey ranked the best". graphic.com.gh. Daily Graphic (GFA). 10 June 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ "Ghana's senior men's national team prepare for World Cup qualifier". ghanafa.org. 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ "National team reforms underway – GFA President". Ghana Football Association. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ "Crentsil elected GFA Vice President". ghanafa.org. Ghana Football Association. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ . The Ghanaian Chronicle. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ . myjoyonline.com. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ "GNPC hails Black Stars". ghana.gov.gh. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ . news.xinhuanet.com. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ . allsports.com.gh. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ Alex Osei-Boateng. . news.xinhuanet.com. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ . FIFA. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ a b K.N.S Mensah (14 March 2012). "Tickets For Ghana And England Maiden International Friendly Sold Out". goal.com. Goal.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
- ^ "Ghana gives Black Stars heroes' welcome after World Cup". BBC News. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ a b . fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ^ "Letter from Africa: Behind Ghana and Nigeria's love-hate affair". BBC News. 12 September 2020.
- ^ "VAR, Fun and Disappointment: Ghana and Nigeria 'jollof derby' leaves fans asking for more | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "GTV Sports+ to telecast live premier league matches". liquidsportsghana.com. 29 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
- ^ Bonna, Okyere (2008). Ghana, The Rediscovered Soccer Might: Watch Out World!. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse.
- ^ Whelan, Alan (2012). The Black Stars of Ghana. Inkstand Press. ISBN 978-0-9572248-0-3.
- ^ "Kwame Nkrumah's Vision of Africa". BBC World Service. 14 September 2000. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Kwame Nkrumah & Ghana's Black Stars (2010)". footysphere.com. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ "Ghana's Black Stars football team to debut new celebration dance at AFCON 2013". missgo2girl.com. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ . ghanasportsonline.com. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Black Stars victory song launched". modernghana.com. 2 October 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ . jazika.com. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ^ "Chris Hughton appointed as Technical Assistant to new Black Stars Technical team". Ghana Football Association. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "GFA to name new Black Stars coach by end of January". Ghanaweb. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ "C.K. Gyamfi picks CAF award". ghanafa.org. Ghana Football Association (GFA). 2 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ Frreman Yeboah, Thomas (2 December 2013). "Reminiscences! 50 years after Ghana's first ever African Cup of Nations triumph". graphic.com.gh. Daily Graphic. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ "Appiah becomes 41st coach of the Black Stars". ghanafa.org. Ghana Football Association (GFA). 17 April 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ Anaman, Fiifi (17 October 2013). . allsports.com.gh. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ "GFA confirms Otto Addo as permanent Black Stars coach; Hughton, Boateng and Dramani to support him". ghanasoccernet.com. GhanaSoccernet. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Otto Addo announces squad for World Cup finals". Ghana Football Association. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ Ghana national football team [@GhanaBlackstars] (14 November 2022). "Our 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 November 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Association, Ghana Football. "Local Black Stars calls up 27 players". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Maxwell Konadu announces 28 players for Local Black Stars camping". www.ghanaweb.com. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Maxwell Konadu invites 29 local Black Stars to prepare for COSAFA Cup and 2016 AFCON qualifiers". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ Freeman Yeboah, Thomas. "Ghana - Record International Players". RSSSF.
- ^ Aidoo, George (8 February 1980). The Mirror: Issue 1,365 February 8 1980. Graphic Communications Group.
- ^ Patrick Akoto (10 April 2012). "Ghana FA reaches agreement with Kwesi Appiah, set to be unveiled on April 17". Ghana Soccernet.
- ^ "Abedi Pele: I did not lobby for Black Stars captaincy". Citi Sports Online. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "The Black Stars 10: No 2, Stephen Appiah – A leader in a historic generation - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Today in history: John Mensah Confirmed as Black Stars captain". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Gyan made permanent Black Stars captain". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ Association, Ghana Football. "Andre Ayew maintains Black Stars captaincy, Partey, Ofori to assist him". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Maritzburg goalkeeper Richard Ofori named as Ghana second deputy captain". GhanaSoccernet. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Ghana 2–1 USA". BBC. 22 June 2006. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ . fifa.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
- ^ . fifa.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Archived from the original on 30 April 2011.
- ^ "Amazing Black Stars Set Eyes on Brazil 2014". myradiogoldlive.com.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul. "Uruguay 1–1 Ghana (4–2 pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ . ghanafa.org. Ghana Football Association (GFA). 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ . fifa.com. FIFA. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ . fifa.com. FIFA. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ . FIFA.com. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ^ BBC News (25 September 2001). "Nations Cup trophy revealed". BBC. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
- ^ Dr Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup – West African Soccer Federation championship. 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Uganda Independence Tournament 1962". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Merdeka Tournament 1982 (Malaysia). 5 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Samuel K. Doe Cup 1986. 2 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Black Stars Tournament 1993 (Libreville, Gabon). 16 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ Great Artificial River Championship 1999 (Libya). 4 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ LG Cup Four Nations Tournament (Nigeria) 2003. 1 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
External links
- Ghana Football Association site
- List of International Matches at RSSSF
- GSN 8 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine