Former Ghana international Nii Odartey Lamptey has criticised the Black Stars’ approach at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying the team must rediscover its ability to dominate possession and attack opponents rather than rely heavily on defensive football.
Although Ghana reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time since 2010, the team’s cautious style of play attracted criticism throughout the tournament.
Lamptey, who closely followed the Black Stars’ campaign, said he was disappointed with the performances and believes the current squad falls short of previous generations that represented Ghana on the global stage.
“I watched all the matches and me personally, I’m not impressed,” he told 3Sports.
“If I look at the team that went to the World Cup, the first World Cup in South Africa, you can’t compare this team to them. And then 2014. And then our last World Cup, 2022. Even that one that we did not do well, I think that team is far, far better than this.”
The former Anderlecht and Aston Villa forward identified Ghana’s inability to retain possession as one of the major weaknesses of the campaign.
He contrasted the current midfield with the technically gifted players who helped the Black Stars establish themselves as one of Africa’s strongest sides during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
“You should have a team that can be able to hold the ball. And this is what we couldn’t do. And it was haunting us,” he explained.
“All the teams that I mentioned, the Ghana team in 2010, we could hold the ball. Look at our midfielders. We had ball jugglers and all that. This team, no. And this is haunting us.”
Lamptey also reserved particular criticism for Ghana’s performance against England, insisting that spending long periods defending should not be considered an effective game plan.
“A proper way to defend is to attack. If you attack, if you defend a million times, they beat you. There’s no way a team can defend throughout 90 minutes,” he added.
The Black Stars will now turn their attention to qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations after Carlos Queiroz was retained as head coach following the World Cup.
Ghana will travel to Bouaké to face Côte d’Ivoire at the Stade de la Paix on September 24 before hosting The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium three days later.
Having failed to qualify for the previous AFCON finals in Morocco, the four-time African champions will be seeking an immediate return to the continent’s flagship tournament.
