Ghana national team assistant coach Desmond Ofei has stated that the technical team has learnt valuable lessons from the Black Stars' failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Black Stars missed out on the ticket to Morocco after finishing bottom of Group F where they managed just three points from six games. The four-time African champions will be absent from the continental football tournament for the first time in over a decade.
Head coach Otto Addo will lead the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarterfinalists during their efforts to reach the World Cup in qualifiers against Chad and Madagascar this month. However, speaking to the Ghana Football Association's media, Ofei says the technical team has learned from the mistakes and is determined to change the narrative.
"As we all know, it was a painful moment for us not to qualify for the AFCON this year in Morocco. But we've learnt a lot from the mistakes on and off the pitch, and we feel like we are very hungry to try and rectify the situation," he said. "Once again, it's still hard work and through working together. We are willing to work really hard to rectify those mistakes."
"I think we have to look at ourselves first because we have enough quality in the squad to make sure we perform on a day," he said. "We want to also make the Ghanaian fans very proud of us, so it's very important that we give a really good performance against Chad at home. We are going to fight, and it's going to be a final."
"For us, I think it's very important to make sure that this window is wrapped up very positively and make sure that the Ghanaian fans are very happy with us," he added.
The Black Stars will take on Chad in Accra on March 17 before battling Madagascar in their next game at the Grand Stade d'Al Hoceima on Monday, March 24, in Morocco.
2026 World Cup Qualifying: Group I table (4 matches played)
Points | |
Comoros | 9 |
Ghana | 9 |
Madagascar | 7 |
Mali | 5 |
Central African Republic | 4 |
Chad | 0 |
The group winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Four of the nine group runners-up qualify for a playoff to determine Africa's representative at the intercontinental qualifying playoff.
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