Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz has urged the Black Stars to put their failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations behind them as they begin their bid to return to the continental tournament.
Ghana missed out on the AFCON finals in Morocco for the first time in more than two decades after finishing bottom of their qualifying group under former coach Otto Addo.
The four-time African champions collected just three points from six matches, recording three defeats and three draws.
Queiroz, 73, says Ghana must learn from that disappointment rather than allow it to define the national team’s future.
“That’s our job to get rid of that trauma [of not qualifying for the 2025 AFCON],” Queiroz told reporters ahead of Thursday’s 2027 AFCON qualifier against Ivory Coast.
“As far as I know, this is the third time in a row that Italy didn’t qualify for the World Cup, and they did not stop football.
“This game [of football] can go a little bit nuts because the fact that you are a good team, great nation of football and one time you don’t qualify [for the AFCON], that doesn’t mean that Ghana has lost its history, its reputation, its prestige.
“It’s part of the journey.”
Ghana begin their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign against Ivory Coast at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké on Thursday.
They will then return home to face The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium before travelling to Morocco for an international friendly against the hosts in Tangier on 4 October.
Queiroz said the priority was to use the upcoming matches to rebuild confidence and correct the problems that contributed to Ghana’s failure to reach the 2025 tournament.
“Let’s together do that job, get rid of that [2025 AFCON] trauma. We have to correct it,” he added.
