Ghana
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Black stars
AssociationGFA
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachChris Hughton
CaptainAndré Ayew
Most capsAndré Ayew (113)
Top scorerAsamoah Gyan (51)
FIFA codeGHA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 60 Decrease 2 (6 April 2023)[1]
Highest14 (April–May 2007, February 2008)
Lowest89 (June 2004)
First international
 Gold Coast and United Kingdom British Togoland 1–0 Nigeria 
(Accra, British Gold Coast; 28 May 1950)
Biggest win
 Nyasaland 0–12 Gold Coast 
(Nyasaland; 15 October 1962)[2]
Biggest defeat
 Brazil 8–2 Ghana 
(São José do Rio Preto, Brazil; 27 March 1996)[3]
World Cup
Appearances4 (first in 2006)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2010)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances23 (first in 1963)
Best resultChampions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)

The Ghana national association football team represents Ghana in association football.[5] Prior to 1957, it played as the Gold Coast.

It qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2006. It has won the Africa Cup of Nations 4 times (1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), while finishing as runners-up 5 times (1968, 1970, 1992, 2010, and 2015).[6]

History

Members in the 1960s pose with some of Ghana's successive international trophies won.
Members in the 1960s pose with some of Ghana's successive international trophies won.

On 19 August 1962 at the Accra Sports Stadium, it played Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish champions, former European champions and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.[7]

Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and it won successive African Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved its record win, 13–2 away to Kenya, after the second of these. It reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Its domination of this tournament earned it the nickname "the Black Stars of Africa" in the 1960s.[8]

It failed to qualify for 3 successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, and qualified for the Olympic Games football tournaments, becoming the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to qualify for the Games.[9]

Prior to the year 2000, disharmony among the squad which led to parliamentary and executive intervention to settle issues between 2 squad members, Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah in the 1990s, may have played some part in the failure of the team to build on the successes of the national underage teams in the 1990s, and a generation of Black Stars players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the "core" of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations, and were undefeated for a year in 2005 and reached the final tournament of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Black Stars started by succumbing to a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, and wins over Czech Republic (2–0) and United States (2–1) saw it through to the second round, where it lost 3–0 to Brazil.[10]

Under head coach Milovan Rajevac, the Black Stars went on to secure a 100% record in its qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, it is in Group D with Germany, Serbia and Australia. It reached the round of 16 where it played the United States, winning 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. It then lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, having missed a penalty kick in extra time after what would have been the winning goal to send Ghana to the semi-finals was prevented by Luis Suárez's handball, who was then shown a red card for his actions.[11]

In 2013 it became the only team in Africa to reach 4 consecutive semi-finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations twice, the first time since between 1963 and 1970.[12]

It was sufficiently ranked by FIFA to start its qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in the Second round. It won the group, and in the following round qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in November 2013, beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in a 2-legged play-off.[13] It was drawn in Group G for the finals, where it faced Germany, Portugal, and the United States.[14] It exited in the group stages recording 1 draw and was the only team to not lose to Germany in the tournament.

In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, it reached the final, to be denied the title on penalties against Ivory Coast. While its 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign ended in a 4th-place finish - the third one in 4 consecutive editions of the tournament - in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, it finished behind Egypt and Uganda in their final group. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, it was eliminated by Tunisia in the Round of 16. In 2021, Rajevac was brought back, and the team ended up failing to win a match at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations where it lost 2–3 to debutants the Comoros after an André Ayew red card to finish bottom of its group and thus fail to progress beyond the group stage for the first time since 2006. It drew 0–0 vs Nigeria and drew 1–1 in Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the away goals rule.[15]

Culture

Kits and crest

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ghana national football team kits.
Home shirt: 1970s–1980s
Home shirt: 1970s–1980s

Adopted following the independence of Ghana in 1957, the black star has been included in its kits. The Black Stars' kits were sponsored by Puma SE from 2005, with the deal ending in 2014.[16]

Badge and national anthem
Badge and national anthem

Between 1990 and 2006 the Ghana national 3 team used the kit in the colours of the national flag of Ghana, with gold, green and red used, as in the team's crest and also known as the Pan-African colours. The gold with green and red kit concept and design was used in the 60s and 70s, and designed with gold and green vertical stripes and red shoulders. An all black second kit was introduced in 2008 and in 2015, Black Stars' gold-red-green coloured kit and all black coloured kit is to be reassigned to the position of 1st and 2nd kits following the induction of a brown with blue and gold coloured Black Stars 3rd kit in 2012.[17][18]

The team's kit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was ranked as the best kit of the tournament by BuzzFeed.[19]

Ghana home kit 2008.svg
Ghana away kit 2008.svg

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier Period
Germany Erima 1991–1992
Germany Adidas 1992–2000
Italy Kappa 2000–2005
Germany Puma 2005–

Grounds

Kumasi Sports Stadium
Lizzy Sports Complex

World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches have been played at the Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi, the Len Clay Stadium, Kumasi Sports Stadium and Abrankese Stadium in Kumasi, the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in Cape Coast, the Accra Sports Stadium in the Accra and the Tamale Stadium in Tamale. Some smaller, regional stadia (stadiums) were used in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying and 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification qualifying campaigns.

The training facilities and training grounds are located at Agyeman Badu Stadium, Berekum Sports Stadium in Brong-Ahafo, the Tema Sports Stadium in Tema and the multi-functional Lizzy Sports Complex in Legon.[20]

Organization and finance

The Black Stars had no official head because of "corrupt" practices by the then president, Kwesi Nyantakyi.[21] and vice-president George Afriyie,[22] with Frank Davis as director of football, and Edward Bawa as treasurer.[23] The Ghana Football Association (GFA) signed a CN¥92.2 million (US$15 million) deal with Ghanaian state-run oil and gas exploration corporation, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), to sponsor the Black Stars and the renewable contract saw the oil and gas exploration corporation become the global headline sponsor of the Black Stars, with a yearly Black Stars player salary wage bill,[24][25] following the gold mining corporations Ashanti Goldfields Corporation and Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), which had been sponsoring the Black Stars since 2005.[26]

On 28 August 2013, Ghana Football Association (GFA) launched a TV channel and named GFA TV. The channel has the exclusive rights to broadcast all the Black Stars' matches.[27] In November 2013, the Black Stars signed a 2013–2015 CN¥30.6 million (US$5 million) and an additional classified multi-million private bank sponsorship deal with the Ghanaian state-run private banking institution UniBank.[28]

Supporters

Ghana Supporters Union at an AFCON 2015 match between Ghana and Guinea
Ghana Supporters Union at an AFCON 2015 match between Ghana and Guinea

The Black Stars maintain an average stadium match attendance of 60,000+ and a match attendance high of 80,000+, such as in the case of its 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay in which was attended by 84,017 spectators.[29] Ghana's match against England on 29 March 2011 had the largest away following for any association football national team since the re-opening of Wembley Stadium in 2007.[30] The match was watched by 700 million people around the world.[30]

Following the team's appearances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments they were greeted by some hundred avid fans dancing and singing at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.[31]

Rivalries

Main article: Jollof derby
Vs. Nigeria in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Quarter-Final
Vs. Nigeria in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Quarter-Final

A rivalry is with the Super Eagles, the Nigeria national team. The "Battle of Supremacy on the Gulf of Guinea" is between 2 of the "most successful teams on the African continent".[32] The proximity of the 2 countries to each other, a dispute between the different association football competitions and wider diplomatic competition for influence across West Africa add to this rivalry.[32][33] The match between these 2 countries is called the Jollof derby.[34]

Media and arts

Match schedules are broadcast in English as in the case of inter-continental matches and in Akan nationally by Adom TV, PeaceFM, AdomFM and HappyFM. During the scheduled qualification for the 2014 World Cup national broadcaster GTV, a sub-division of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), broadcast to the Ghanaian public home qualifiers with away qualifiers broadcast by the satellite television broadcasting corporation Viasat 1. The friendly match against Turkey in August 2013 was televised by Viasat 1 and the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 Inter-Continental Championships are scheduled for public broadcast by the corporations GFA TV, GBC and Viasat 1.[35]

Products including books, documentary films, Azonto dances and songs have been made in the name of the team. These may be intended with commercial motives and are focused on previous and future World Cups or Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Fixtures

Main article: Ghana national football team results (2020–present)

2022

1 June 2023 AFCON qualification Ghana  3–0  Madagascar Cape Coast, Ghana
19:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Cape Coast Sports Stadium
Referee: Mahamadou Kéïta (Mali)
5 June 2023 AFCON qualification Central African Republic  1–1  Ghana Luanda, Angola
14:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)
10 June 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer Japan  4–1  Ghana Kobe, Japan
18:55 UTC+9
Report
Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe
Referee: Kurt Ams (Australia)
14 June 2022 Kirin Cup Soccer Chile  0–0
(1–3 p)		  Ghana Osaka, Japan
15:15 UTC+9 Report Stadium: Panasonic Stadium Suita
Attendance: 6,185
Referee: Hiroki Kasahara (Japan)
Penalties
23 August Friendly Qatar  2–1  Ghana Vienna, Austria
18:30 UTC+2
Source Source
Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion
23 September Friendly Brazil  3–0  Ghana Le Havre, France
19:30 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Stade Océane
Referee: Mikael Lesage (France)
27 September Friendly Nicaragua  0–1  Ghana Lorca, Spain
20:00 UTC+2 Report
Stadium: Estadio Francisco Artés Carrasco
Referee: Dario Bel (Croatia)
17 November Friendly Ghana  2–0  Switzerland Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
14:00 UTC+4
Report Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium
Attendance: 650
Referee: Ahmed Issa (United Arab Emirates)
24 November 2022 FIFA World Cup Portugal  3–2  Ghana Doha, Qatar
19:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Stadium 974
Attendance: 42,662
Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
28 November 2022 FIFA World Cup South Korea  2–3  Ghana Al Rayyan, Qatar
16:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Education City Stadium
Attendance: 43,983
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
2 December 2022 FIFA World Cup Ghana  0–2  Uruguay Al Wakrah, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
Attendance: 43,443
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

2023

7 January Friendly Algeria  0–0  Ghana
23 March 2023 2023 AFCON qualification Ghana  1–0  Angola Kumasi, Ghana
17:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium
Referee: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
27 March 2023 2023 AFCON qualification Angola  1–1  Ghana Luanda, Angola
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt)
June 2023 AFCON qualification Madagascar  v  Ghana Antananarivo, Madagascar
--:-- UTC+3 Stadium: Mahamasina Municipal Stadium
September 2023 AFCON qualification Ghana  v  Central African Republic Ghana
--:-- UTC±0

Coaching staff

As of 12 February 2023[44]
Position Name
Head coach Republic of Ireland Chris Hughton
Assistant coach Netherlands George Boateng
Assistant coach Ghana Mas-Ud Didi Dramani
Goalkeeping coach Ghana Richard Kingson

Coaching history

See also: Ghana national football team manager

Since 1957 it has had 32 different head coaches and 3 caretakers. C. K. Gyamfi led the Black Stars to 3 Africa Cup of Nations titles – in 1963, 1965 and 1982 – making Gyamfi the "joint most successful coach" in the competition's history.[45] Fred Osam Duodu led the Black Stars to their 1978 Africa Cup of Nations title;[46] Ratomir Dujković, Milovan Rajevac, and James Kwesi Appiah have led the Black Stars to World Cup qualification.[47][48] 2 Serbian managers guided Ghana to the 2 first World Cup debuts. The team is being headed by Chris Hugton who is the head coach and supported by George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as assistant coaches of the senior national team, the Black Stars since February 2023.[49]

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Angola on 23 and 27 March 2023.[50]

Caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2023, after the match against  Angola.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Lawrence Ati-Zigi (1996-11-29) 29 November 1996 (age 26) 16 0 Switzerland St. Gallen
12 1GK Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (1999-02-08) 8 February 1999 (age 24) 2 0 Belgium Eupen
16 1GK Joe Wollacott (1996-09-08) 8 September 1996 (age 26) 11 0 England Charlton Athletic
2 2DF Patrick Kpozo (1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 25) 0 0 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol
3 2DF Denis Odoi (1988-05-27) 27 May 1988 (age 34) 6 0 Belgium Club Brugge
14 2DF Gideon Mensah (1998-07-18) 18 July 1998 (age 24) 15 0 France Auxerre
15 2DF Joseph Aidoo (1995-09-29) 29 September 1995 (age 27) 12 0 Spain Celta Vigo
18 2DF Daniel Amartey (1994-12-21) 21 December 1994 (age 28) 51 0 England Leicester City
23 2DF Alexander Djiku (1994-08-09) 9 August 1994 (age 28) 21 1 France Strasbourg
2DF Mohammed Salisu (1999-04-17) 17 April 1999 (age 23) 6 2 England Southampton
2DF Tariq Lamptey (2000-09-30) 30 September 2000 (age 22) 4 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion
4 3MF Edmund Addo (2000-05-17) 17 May 2000 (age 22) 10 0 Serbia Spartak Subotica
5 3MF Thomas Partey (1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 29) 44 13 England Arsenal
6 3MF Kingsley Schindler (1993-07-12) 12 July 1993 (age 29) 1 0 Germany FC Köln
8 3MF Majeed Ashimeru (1997-10-10) 10 October 1997 (age 25) 3 0 Belgium Anderlecht
10 3MF André Ayew (1989-12-17) 17 December 1989 (age 33) 113 24 England Nottingham Forest
13 3MF Joseph Paintsil (1998-02-01) 1 February 1998 (age 25) 7 0 Belgium Genk
20 3MF Mohammed Kudus (2000-08-02) 2 August 2000 (age 22) 23 7 Netherlands Ajax
21 3MF Salis Abdul Samed (2000-03-26) 26 March 2000 (age 23) 6 0 France Lens
7 4FW Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (2001-09-13) 13 September 2001 (age 21) 1 0 Germany Hamburger SV
9 4FW Jordan Ayew (1991-09-11) 11 September 1991 (age 31) 89 19 England Crystal Palace
11 4FW Osman Bukari (1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 (age 24) 11 3 Serbia Red Star Belgrade
17 4FW Antoine Semenyo (2000-01-07) 7 January 2000 (age 23) 8 2 England Bournemouth
19 4FW Iñaki Williams (1994-06-15) 15 June 1994 (age 28) 8 0 Spain Athletic Bilbao
22 4FW Kamaldeen Sulemana (2002-02-15) 15 February 2002 (age 21) 17 0 England Southampton
4FW Kamal Sowah (2000-01-09) 9 January 2000 (age 23) 1 0 Belgium Club Brugge

Recent call-ups

The following have been called up in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ibrahim Danlad (2002-12-02) 2 December 2002 (age 20) 4 0 Ghana Asante Kotoko 2022 FIFA World Cup
GK Richard Ofori (1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 29) 24 0 South Africa Orlando Pirates 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Baba Rahman (1994-07-02) 2 July 1994 (age 28) 51 1 England Reading 2022 FIFA World Cup
DF Alidu Seidu (2000-06-04) 4 June 2000 (age 22) 6 0 France Clermont 2022 FIFA World Cup
DF Jonathan Mensah (1990-07-13) 13 July 1990 (age 32) 69 1 United States San Jose Earthquakes 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Andy Yiadom (1991-12-02) 2 December 1991 (age 31) 26 0 England Reading 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Kasim Nuhu (1995-06-22) 22 June 1995 (age 27) 11 1 Switzerland Basel 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Ibrahim Imoro (1999-10-02) 2 October 1999 (age 23) 5 0 Sudan Al-Hilal Omdurman 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Dennis Nkrumah-Korsah (1996-02-25) 25 February 1996 (age 27) 4 0 Ghana Hearts of Oak 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Stephan Ambrosius (1998-12-18) 18 December 1998 (age 24) 0 0 Germany Karlsruher SC 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
DF Abdul Mumin (1998-06-06) 6 June 1998 (age 24) 0 0 Spain Rayo Vallecano 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
MF Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (1996-03-08) 8 March 1996 (age 27) 18 0 Germany SC Freiburg 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Daniel Afriyie (2001-06-26) 26 June 2001 (age 21) 7 3 Switzerland Zürich 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Elisha Owusu (1997-11-07) 7 November 1997 (age 25) 3 0 Belgium Gent 2022 FIFA World Cup
MF Mubarak Wakaso (1990-07-25) 25 July 1990 (age 32) 70 13 Belgium Eupen 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
MF Jeffrey Schlupp (1992-12-23) 23 December 1992 (age 30) 20 1 England Crystal Palace 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
MF Iddrisu Baba (1996-01-22) 22 January 1996 (age 27) 18 0 Spain Mallorca 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
MF Salifu Mudasiru (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 (age 26) 0 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Batin 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
MF Augustine Okrah (1993-09-14) 14 September 1993 (age 29) 2 0 Tanzania Simba v.  Central African Republic, 5 June 2022
FW Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (2004-03-08) 8 March 2004 (age 19) 14 1 Portugal Sporting CP 2022 FIFA World Cup
FW Richmond Boakye (1993-01-28) 28 January 1993 (age 30) 19 7 Libya Al-Akhdar 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Samuel Owusu (1996-03-28) 28 March 1996 (age 27) 17 1 Serbia Čukarički 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Caleb Ekuban (1994-03-23) 23 March 1994 (age 29) 13 3 Italy Genoa 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Felix Afena-Gyan (2003-01-19) 19 January 2003 (age 20) 6 1 Italy Cremonese 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (1994-07-10) 10 July 1994 (age 28) 6 0 Germany Holstein Kiel 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Yaw Yeboah (1997-03-28) 28 March 1997 (age 26) 4 0 United States Columbus Crew 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Christopher Antwi-Adjei (1994-02-07) 7 February 1994 (age 29) 3 0 Germany VfL Bochum 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Emmanuel Gyasi (1994-01-11) 11 January 1994 (age 29) 3 0 Italy Spezia 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Mohammed Dauda (1998-02-20) 20 February 1998 (age 25) 0 0 Spain Tenerife 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Ernest Nuamah (2003-11-01) 1 November 2003 (age 19) 0 0 Denmark Nordsjælland 2022 FIFA World CupPRE
FW Benjamin Tetteh (1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 25) 7 0 England Hull City v.  Nicaragua, 27 September 2022
Notes
  • CNC Cancelled match.
  • WD Withdrew.
  • INJ Withdrew because of injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • RET Retired from international soccer.
  • SUS Suspended from the team.

Local team

Main article: Ghana A' national football team

The football association of Ghana (GFA) administers national teams at different levels, including 1 for the local national team. The team is restricted to players who only play in the local league, thus the Ghana Premier League. It is nicknamed Local Black Stars.[51][52][53]

Records

As of 2 December 2022[54]
Players in bold are still active with Ghana.

Most appearances

Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 André Ayew 113 24 2007–
2 Asamoah Gyan 109 51 2003–2019
3 Richard Kingson 93 1 1996–2011
4 John Paintsil 91 0 2001–2013
5 Jordan Ayew 87 19 2009–
6 Harrison Afful 86 0 2008–2018
7 Sulley Muntari 84 20 2002–2014
8 John Mensah 81 3 2001–2012
9 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu 78 11 2008–2017
10 Kwadwo Asamoah 74 4 2008–2019

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Asamoah Gyan 51 109 0.47 2003–2019
2 Edward Acquah 45 41 1.1 1956–1964
3 Kwasi Owusu 36 45 0.8 1968–1976
4 Tony Yeboah 29 59 0.49 1985–1997
5 Karim Abdul Razak 25 62 0.4 1975–1988
6 André Ayew 24 113 0.21 2007–
7 Wilberforce Mfum 20 26 0.77 1960–1968
Sulley Muntari 20 84 0.24 2002–2014
9 Osei Kofi 19 25 0.76 1964–1973
Abedi Pele 19 73 0.26 1982–1998
Jordan Ayew 19 87 0.22 2009–

Captains

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Ghana at the FIFA World Cup
At the 2006 World Cup and vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010
At the 2006 World Cup and vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010

Ghana have qualified for 4 FIFA World Cup tournaments; 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022. In 2006, it was the only African side to advance to the second round of the World Cup in Germany, and was the 6th nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.[63] It had the youngest team in the 2006 edition with an average age of 23 years and 352 days,[63] and were praised for their improving performance.[64][65] FIFA ranked it 13th out of the 32 countries who competed in the tournament.[66]

In the 2010 World Cup, it progressed beyond the group stages of the World Cup in South Africa, and reached the quarter-finals where it was eliminated by Uruguay. It was defeated on penalty shootout after Luis Suárez hand-balled on the goal line into extra time, preventing a possible winning goal.[67] Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2010 edition, FIFA ranked it 7th.[68]

After beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in November 2013, it qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[69] It was drawn in Group G with Germany, United States and Portugal.[70] For the first time, it fell in the group stage, tying Germany 2–2 and losing to the United States and Portugal by 2–1.[71]

Round Pld W D L GF GA GD
World Cup Finals 15 5 3 7 18 23 −5
World Cup Quals (H) 34 24 8 2 78 19 +59
World Cup Quals (A) 33 9 8 16 37 42 −5
Total 82 38 19 25 133 84 +49
Final Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Campaign
Chile 1962 Did not qualify 2 1 1 0 2 0 1962
England 1966 Withdrew Withdrew
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 6 3 1 1 14 5 1974
Argentina 1978 6 1 0 2 3 5 1978
Spain 1982 Withdrew Withdrew
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 2 1990
United States 1994 4 2 0 2 4 3 1994
France 1998 8 2 4 2 9 8 1998
South Korea Japan 2002 12 4 3 4 10 11 2002
Germany 2006 Round of 16 13th 4 2 0 2 4 6 12 8 3 1 24 4 2006
South Africa 2010 Quarter-finals 7th 5 2 2 1 5 4 12 8 1 3 20 8 2010
Brazil 2014 Group stage 25th 3 0 1 2 4 6 8 7 0 1 25 6 2014
Russia 2018 Did not qualify 8 2 5 1 9 5 2018
Qatar 2022 Group stage 24th 3 1 0 2 5 7 8 5 3 1 8 4 2022
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total 15 5 3 7 18 23 88 43 22 19 128 61
At the CAF Africa Cup of Nations
At the CAF Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations

Ghana have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times – in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982 – bettered by Cameroon and Egypt. As the first winner of three AFCON tournaments, Ghana obtained the right to permanently hold the trophy in 1978.[72] Ghana qualified for the tournament 23 times, finishing as runners-up five times, third once, and fourth place four times. Thus, Ghana has the second-most final game appearances at the tournament behind Egypt (who has ten) with nine. They also hold the record of most consecutive semi-final appearances, with six straight between 2008 and 2017.

AFCON 2015 match with Guinea
AFCON 2015 match with Guinea
Final
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Egypt 1959 Not affiliated to CAF
Ethiopia 1962 Did not qualify
Ghana 1963 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 6 1
Tunisia 1965 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 12 5
Ethiopia 1968 Second place 2nd 5 3 1 1 11 8
Sudan 1970 Second place 2nd 5 2 2 1 6 4
Cameroon 1972 Did not qualify
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976
Ghana 1978 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 9 2
Nigeria 1980 Group stage 5th 3 1 1 1 1 1
Libya 1982 Champions 1st 5 2 3 0 7 5
Ivory Coast 1984 Group stage 6th 3 1 0 2 2 4
Egypt 1986 Did not qualify
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 1 0 6 2
Tunisia 1994 Quarter-finals 5th 3 2 0 1 3 2
South Africa 1996 4th place 4th 6 4 0 2 7 5
Burkina Faso 1998 Group stage 11th 3 1 0 2 3 3
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 1 2 3 4
Mali 2002 Quarter-finals 7th 4 1 2 1 2 2
Tunisia 2004 Did not qualify
Egypt 2006 Group stage 10th 3 1 0 2 2 3
Ghana 2008 Third place 3rd 6 5 0 1 11 5
Angola 2010 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 0 2 4 4
GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012 4th place 4th 6 3 1 2 6 5
South Africa 2013 4th place 4th 6 3 2 1 10 6
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 10 3
Gabon 2017 4th place 4th 6 3 0 3 4 5
Egypt 2019 Round of 16 12th 4 1 3 0 5 3
Cameroon 2021 Group stage 19th 3 0 1 2 3 5
Ivory Coast 2023 To be determined
2025
Total 102 54 21 27 133 87
*Denotes place was determined via penalty shoot-out.

West African Nations Cup and WAFU Nations Cup

Olympic Games

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
United Kingdom London 1908 Did not participate
Sweden Stockholm 1912
Belgium Antwerp 1920
France Paris 1924
Netherlands Amsterdam 1928
Nazi Germany Berlin 1936
United Kingdom London 1948
Finland Helsinki 1952 [a]
Australia Melbourne 1956
Italy Rome 1960 Did not qualify
Japan Tokyo 1964 Quarter-final 7th 4 1 1 2 7 12
Mexico Mexico 1968 Round 1 12th 3 0 2 1 6 8
West Germany Munich 1972 Round 1 16th 3 0 0 3 1 11
Canada Montreal 1976 Withdrew after qualifying
Soviet Union Moscow 1980
United States Los Angeles 1984 Did not qualify
South Korea Seoul 1988
Total 10 1 3 6 14 31
a. Note: The Gold Coast team established in 1950; country known as Gold Coast then renamed Ghana in 1957, not competing in international tournaments and not being part of neither FIFA nor CAF until 1958, and therefore recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Other

Winners: 1959, 1960, 1963
Winners: 1962
Runners up: 1982
Runners up: 1986
Third: 1993
Runners up: 1999
Third: 2003

References

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. ^ Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) – List of International Matches Archived 28 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine. [1] Archived 28 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF
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Ghana national football team
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