After losing 2-0 to Cote d’Ivoire in Bouake, Ghana face The Gambia at home today with an injury-hit squad and no room for another slip.
Ghana's Black Stars return to the Accra Sports Stadium today to face The Gambia in their second Group C match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying series. Kick-off is 4:00 p.m. GMT, which is midday on the East Coast of the United States and 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast for Ghanaians following from abroad.
The game comes after a poor start. Ghana lost 2-0 to Cote d'Ivoire at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on Thursday, ending the opening round of fixtures with no points on the board. Daily Guide Network reports that the defeat has raised the pressure on coach Carlos Queiroz to produce a response in front of a home crowd.
An injury-hit squad
Queiroz's plans have been disrupted by absences. Mohammed Kudus pulled out of the squad as he continues recovering from a long injury layoff, and other senior players have also been ruled out or left doubtful by injury.
In response, the Portuguese coach brought in nine extra players: Jonas Adjetey, Alidu Seidu, Ebenezer Annan, Rockson Yeboah, Rahim Ibrahim, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Mohammed Fuseini, Benjamin Tetteh and Felix Afena-Gyan.
That gives the squad a mix of established internationals and younger players still building their reputations. The trade-off is that a reshaped group has had very little time to settle before a match Ghana cannot afford to lose.
Queiroz has stressed that his focus is on the players who are actually available to him rather than those missing.
What Ghana must fix
The main problem in Bouake was the lack of a goal. Ghana will need to hold the ball better, get into the final third more often and finish the chances they create. Playing in Accra, rather than in the hostile atmosphere of Bouake, should at least remove one obstacle.
The group picture
Group C has four teams: Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia and Somalia. In a small group, early points carry extra weight, because there are fewer matches in which to recover from a bad result. The Gambia arrive knowing the same thing, which suggests a tight contest rather than an open one.
For Ghana, a win would wipe out most of the damage from the opening defeat and put the campaign back on a normal footing. Another loss would leave the Black Stars with no points from two matches and a difficult climb to qualify.
The Accra Sports Stadium fixture is therefore an early test of how quickly Queiroz can get this reshuffled side working together.
