Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz has admitted that Ghana face a difficult start to their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, with injuries and late withdrawals disrupting his preparations.
The Portuguese coach revealed that a significant number of potential players were unavailable even before the squad gathered for the international break.
“When I started this journey, at the beginning I looked at my paper and I had 12 players out of the potential call-ups immediately. This is not a good starting point. One day before you start camp for Ivory Coast, you lose eight players,” Queiroz said.
The Black Stars head coach acknowledged that the constant changes have made preparations challenging, but said his focus remains on building a reliable core within the national team.
“We have to find one way to build the team around the core, the core of players that sustain the team,” he added.
Ghana have made several adjustments to the squad ahead of Thursday’s opening qualifier against Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké.
Mohammed Kudus and Prince Kwabena Adu withdrew after initially being called up, while Thomas Partey was left out due to hamstring problems.
Lorient defender Nathaniel Adjei has also withdrawn after suffering an injury, forcing Queiroz to make further changes to his squad.
Brandon Thomas-Asante, Mohammed Fuseini and Rahim Ibrahim have subsequently been added at different stages, while Wolfsburg defender Jonas Adjetey has also received a late call-up, according to his club.
Queiroz will therefore begin Ghana’s qualifying campaign with a squad that has undergone significant changes in the build-up to the opening fixture.
The Black Stars face a challenging assignment away to Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké before returning home to host The Gambia on September 29.
