Agyemang Badu: Ghana is no more a football powerhouse

Former U-20 world champion Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has cautioned the Black Stars to desist from any forms of complacency in the World Cup qualifiers. Ghana is housed in Group I alongside Madagascar and the Central African Republic which are in the same AFCON qualifying group as Ghana.

However, there are new additions to the three AFCON group mates with West African neighbours Mali as well as Chad joining the pack. Comoros who ultimately knocked Ghana out of the last AFCON in Cameroon with a 2-3 victory is also in the group.

And despite the presence of all these less established football nations which should have made things a bit easier for Ghana, the former Black Stars midfielder believes Ghana is not on those levels it was years before to put fear in opponents. He thus advised against any form of complacency as any attempt to underrate any team could be catastrophic for the team.

“Our World Cup Group is manageable on paper but tricky and dangerous in reality. We have fallen behind the pecking order,” he stated, adding, “We are no more a powerhouse in African football. We need to accept that we have struggled against all those teams in the group apart from Chad.”

Also, the former Udinese man believes if the Black Stars players get enough playing time at their clubs and have good seasons it could help in their performance in the qualifiers. Aside from that, he urged the coach of the national side Chris Hughton must ensure competition at the highest level and no complacency.

“We must hope for a good season and playing time for our players so that it can translate into their performance for the national team. The coach must create competition in the team to eliminate any complacency,” he stated. Also, he said Chris Hughton “must establish total discipline in the team and not tolerate any egoistic behaviours,” he told 3sports while adding, “I am sure we can qualify if we do the right things.”