Former Ghana international Sam Johnson is urging fans to withhold judgment on the Black Stars after their recent defeats to Japan and South Korea in the Kirin Challenge Cup.
Ghana lost 2-0 to Japan and narrowly lost to South Korea, but Johnson attributes these losses to the absence of key players.
“Some of the players in there are not the key players we want to take to the World Cup,” Johnson explained. “We don’t have our set team, and that’s a factor. It’s the first time for some players, and most of them aren’t well-known.”
Johnson believes it’s unfair to judge the team too harshly, given the circumstances. “Let’s see what happens in the other friendly games, and then we can judge,” he said.
However, Johnson is worried about the impact on Ghana’s FIFA ranking. “The only problem is that our rankings will go down. The more you lose, the more you go down,” he warned.
Ghana will focus on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, discovering their group opponents on December 5.