The Black Stars must now focus on avoiding a bottom-of-the-table finish in their qualifying group
Four-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Ghana have officially failed to secure a ticket to the 2025 edition for the competition after succumbing to a 1-1 draw against Angola at the November 11th Stadium in Luanda.
Ghana crash out of qualification with one match left
After failing to win any of their five games in qualifying so far, Ghana’s elimination was sealed thanks to their latest stalemate against Angola.
The Black Stars, needing to win against Angola, who had already secured a ticket to Morocco 2025, took the lead in Luanda thanks to an outrageous freekick from captain Jordan Ayew, but they were pegged back by Zini’s second half goal.
With the game tied at full-time, Ghana’s elimination was confirmed, as it would now be mathematically impossible for them to catch Sudan with one game left, despite the Falcons also losing to Niger today.
Ghana’s abysmal qualification record
The Black Stars’ qualification campaign has been far below the standards expected of a country of their stature.
After five games, Ghana have picked up only three points from three draws and two defeats despite being in a relatively easy qualification group, which contains Angola, Niger, and Sudan.
Ghana kicked off qualification with a 1-0 loss at home to Angola and followed that up with back-to-back draws against Niger and Sudan.
Black Stars of Ghana also crashed out of AFCON 2023 in the group stage.
When things appeared at their worst, Ghana went a step lower, losing 2-0 to Sudan before confirming elimination with the draw against Angola.
Ghana’s final match of the group will be against Niger, as the Black Stars look to rise from last place on the standings.