Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has defended Ghana’s performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the Black Stars enjoyed a better campaign despite their early exit from the tournament.
The four-time African champions made their fifth appearance at the World Cup, held in North America, where they progressed to the Round of 32 before suffering elimination.
Ghana recorded one win, one draw and two defeats, earning four points in the competition.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Mr Adams argued that Ghana’s progress beyond the group stage represented an improvement on their previous World Cup outings.
“If you consider our recent performance from failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup hosted in Russia to our performance at the 2022 [World Cup in] Qatar where we exited at the preliminary stage, to the 2026 [World Cup] where at least we advanced from the group stage, you cannot say it was a poor showing,” the Buem MP told Citi News Room.
Ghana missed the 2018 tournament in Russia before suffering a group-stage exit at Qatar 2022.
At the 2026 edition, the Black Stars opened their campaign with a 2-1 defeat by Croatia before holding England to a goalless draw.
They then secured a 1-0 victory over Panama to progress to the knockout stage.
However, Ghana’s campaign ended in the Round of 32 after a 1-0 defeat by Colombia.
