“Black Stars must placate Ghanaians with World Cup qualification” – Kamaldeen Sulemana

Photo Credit: Ghana Football Association

Ghanaian winger Kamaldeen Sulemana has accepted the blame on behalf of his teammates for not qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Morocco in December.

The Black Stars failed to pick a ticket for the continental football tournament after finishing bottom of Group F where they pocketed just three points from six qualifying matches. The four-time African champions fell behind leaders Angola who secured 14 points with Sudan clocking 8 in second and Niger claiming third with 7 points.

It was the first time in over a decade that the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarterfinalists will miss the tournament and Kamaldeen Sulemana, who plays for Southampton, admits that the players should take the blame for missing out on the tournament.

"We also didn’t perform well in the last two AFCON tournaments, so we were hoping to make this year a great one," he told Showmax. "We as players take the blame and take full responsibility for not qualifying, and we have apologised to the country and our fans."

Sulemana says the playing body is determined to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Ghana revived their chances of qualifying for the Mundial with back-to-back wins against Chad and Madagascar in the March international window in the Matchday 5 and 6 games.

"We want to do well in the World Cup qualifiers and in the World Cup," he added. Ghana recorded a resounding 5-0 win against Chad before an emphatic 3-0 win over Madagascar which has propelled them to the top of Group I with 15 points.

The Black Stars will take on Chad and Mali in the Matchday 7 and 8 games in September before wrapping up their qualifying games against Comoros and Central African Republic.