Former Sports Minister Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has described Ghana’s performance in the 4-2 defeat by The Gambia as the poorest he has witnessed in his years of following the Black Stars.
Ghana suffered a second consecutive defeat in Group C of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers after surrendering a two-goal lead against The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday.
The Black Stars had opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat by Ivory Coast last Thursday before another disappointing result left them without a point from their first two matches.
Speaking on Joy FM, Vanderpuye expressed his strong criticism of Ghana’s performance against The Gambia.
“In all my years watching football on television in the 70s, going to the stadium as a spectator in the 80s and working as a commentator and in management in the 90s, I have never seen a Black Stars performance as poor as we saw in the game against the Gambia,” he said.
Vanderpuye, who served as Sports Minister from 2016 to 2017, said concerns about the team’s performances had been raised before the 2026 World Cup but were not adequately addressed.
“I don’t know [where we got it wrong]. These are the things we talked about even before the World Cup; these are the issues we raised, but people sometimes think we are being overly critical of the team,” he added.
Ghana had appeared to be in control after taking a 2-0 lead but collapsed in the second half as The Gambia scored four times to complete a dramatic comeback.
The result leaves the four-time African champions bottom of Group C without a point from their opening two matches, putting further pressure on coach Carlos Queiroz and his team.
Ghana will have an opportunity to revive their qualification campaign in October when they face Somalia in a double-header at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Black Stars are attempting to return to the continental tournament after failing to qualify for the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, ending a run of more than two decades of consecutive appearances.
