Ghana national football team

Ghana

Nickname(s)	The Black Stars
Association	Ghana Football Association
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Head coach	Goran Stevanović
Captain	John Mensah
Most caps	Richard Kingson (90)
Top scorer	Abedi Pele (33)
Home stadium	Ohene Djan Sports Stadium Baba Yara Stadium Tamale Stadium Sekondi Stadium
FIFA code	GHA
FIFA ranking	23
Highest FIFA ranking	14 (February, April, May 2008)
Lowest FIFA ranking	89 (June 2004)
Elo ranking	20
Highest Elo ranking	8 (30 June 1996, February, April, May 2008)
Lowest Elo ranking	97 (14 June 2004)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Gold Coast 1–0 Nigeria (Accra, Gold Coast; 28 May 1950)
Biggest win
Kenya 0–13 Ghana (Nairobi, Kenya; 12 December 1965)
Biggest defeat
Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana (Leon, Mexico; 2 October 1968)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 2006)
Best result	Quarter-finals; 2010
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	18 (First in 1963)
Best result	Winners; 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982

The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association. Before gaining independence from Great Britain in 1957, the country played as the Gold Coast.

Although the team did not qualify for the senior FIFA World Cup until 2006, they had qualified for five straight Olympic Games Football Tournaments when the tournament was still a full senior national team competition. The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, behind Egypt.

After going through 2005 unbeaten, Ghana won the FIFA most improved team of the year award and they reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup led by Serbian football coach, Ratomir Dujković.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became the third African team in history to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

History

The Ghana Amateur Football Association was founded in 1957, soon after the country's independence, and was affiliated to Confederation of African Football and FIFA the following year. Englishman George Ainsley was appointed coach of the national team.

In 1960 the Black Stars played Spanish giants Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish, European and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.

Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and Ghana won successive Africa Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved their record win, 13–0 away to Kenya, shortly after the second of these. They also reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Their domination of this tournament earned the country the nickname of "the Brazil of Africa" in the 1960s. The team had no success in FIFA World Cup qualification during this era, and failed to qualify for three successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, but qualified for the Olympic Games Football Tournaments, reaching the quarter finals in 1964 and withdrawing on political grounds in 1976 and but making little progress in continent-wide competitions until the appointment of Burkhard Ziese as coach in 1991. The 1992 African Cup of Nations, after three failures to reach the final tournament, saw Ghana finish second, beaten on penalties in the final by Côte d'Ivoire.

Disharmony among the squad, which eventually led to parliamentary and executive intervention to settle issues between two of the team, Abedi Pele and Anthony Yeboah, may have played some part in the failure of the team to build on the successes of the national underage teams. Ghana slipped to 89th place in the FIFA World Rankings, but a new generation of 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 finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time the team had reached the global stage of the tournament. Ghana started with a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, but wins over the Czech Republic (2–0) and USA (2–1) saw them through to the second round, where they were beaten 3–0 by Brazil.

The Black Stars went on to secure a 100 percent record in their qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup Draw in Cape Town on 4 December 2009 saw the Ghanaian team being placed alongside Germany, Serbia and Australia in Group D. They were able to reach the last 16 where they played the USA, defeating them 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. They then lost on penalties to Uruguay in the quarterfinals, having missed a penalty in extra time after a certain goal was saved off the line by Luis Suárez's deliberately parried handball who was then shown a red card for his actions.

World Cup record

Ghana were the only African side to advance to Round 2 of 2006 FIFA World Cup (Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Angola, and Tunisia were all eliminated in group play), and the sixth nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup. Ghana was the youngest team in the FIFA World Cup 2006 with an average age of 23 yrs and 352 days.

Because of Ghana's performances in the tournament, there has been praise for their continuous efforts to push forward and their fearless attitude. Greek Coach Otto Rehhagel told FIFA.com, "the teams you used to regard as a little behind tactically, the Africans for example, have caught up. They're physically even better off than we are, as they have tremendous natural athleticism, and they've come on enormously in the areas which were non-existent before, discipline and tactics for example. Every team which faced Ghana or Cote d'Ivoire knew they'd been in a game." Of their 2006 performance, FIFA.com said, "Ghana are surely a side in ascendancy."

Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ghana was ranked 13th by FIFA.[1]

Ghana vs. Serbia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup group D match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria on 13 June 2010.

Ghana vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010.

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1962	Did not qualify
1966	Withdrew
1970 to 1978	Did not qualify
1982	Withdrew
1986 to 2002	Did not qualify
2006	Round of 16	13th	4	2	0	2	4	6
2010	Quarter-Final	7th	5	2	2	1	5	4
2014	To Be Determined
2018	To Be Determined
2022
Total	2/13		9	4	2	3	9	10

African Cup of Nations record

After the 1963 and 1965 triumphs, Ghana hosted and won the 13th edition of the African Cup of Nations trophy for keeps in 1978, and four years later, won it again in Tripoli, Libya. The team have won the African Cup of Nations four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, together with Cameroon; Egypt has won the past three tournaments (2006, 2008, 2010) to give it a record seven titles.

The Ghana national team at the 2008 African Cup of Nations before the quarter-final match against Nigeria.

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 4 Appearances: 18
Year	Position		Year	Position		Year	Position
1957	Did not enter		1978	Champions		1998	Round 1
1959	Did not enter		1980	Round 1		2000	Quarter-finals
1962	Did not qualify		1982	Champions		2002	Quarter-finals
1963	Champions		1984	Round 1		2004	Did not qualify
1965	Champions		1986	Did not qualify		2006	Round 1
1968	Second Place		1988	Did not qualify		2008	Third Place
1970	Second Place		1990	Did not qualify		2010	Second Place
1972	Did not qualify		1992	Second Place*		2012	Fourth Place
1974	Did not qualify		1994	Quarter-finals		2013	TBD
1976	Did not qualify		1996	Fourth Place		2015	TBD

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.

***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

• For 2010, see 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

Olympic record

• 1964: Quarter-finals
• 1968: Group Stage
• 1972: Group Stage
• 1976: Group Stage

Note: Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.

Match results

This is the senior Ghanaian national team forthcoming International Friendly matches

Key

      Win       Draw       Loss

International Friendly 12 January 2012	Ghana	Cancelled	Kaizer Chiefs	Rustenburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2				Stadium: Royal Bafokeng Stadium

International Friendly 15 January 2012	Ghana	1 – 1	South Africa	Rustenburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2	Muntari  11'	Report	T. Sangweni  06'	Stadium: Royal Bafokeng Stadium

International Friendly 18 January 2012	Ghana	2 – 0	Platinum Stars	Rustenburg, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2	Gyan  27' A. Ayew  32'	Report		Stadium: Royal Bafokeng Stadium

International Friendly 29 February 2012	Ghana	vs.	Chile	New Jersey, United States
				Stadium: Red Bull Arena

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For 2011 match results, see Ghana national football team 2011

2012 African Cup of Nations

Following the 2010 World Cup tournament, the Ghanaians started with the score of 16 points from 6 matches in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification (Group I) campaign.

Ghana kept a clean sheet throughout their qualification campaign, drawing only with Sudan. The four-time African champions began the journey with a 3-0 win over Swaziland, drew with the Nile Crocodiles but won convincingly against Congo in their third game. They won all their return leg matches, capping off their schedule with a 2-0 victory over Sudan in Khartoum.

Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification#Group I Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Ghana 6 5 1 0 13 1 +12 16 Sudan 6 4 1 1 8 3 +5 13 Congo 6 2 0 4 5 10 −5 6 Swaziland 6 0 0 6 2 14 −12 0   Congo – 0–3 0–1 3–1 Ghana 3–1 – 0–0 2–0 Sudan 2–0 0–2 – 3–0 Swaziland 0–1 0–3 1–2 – The draw for the final tournament took place on 29 October 2011 at the Sipopo Conference Palace in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire along with hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea were the top seeded teams for the draw of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Ghana was placed in group D along with Botswana, West African rivals Mali and Guinea, thus making it an open and fairly difficult group. Group D Main article: 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group D Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Ghana 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Mali 3 2 0 1 3 3 0 6 Guinea 3 1 1 1 7 3 +4 4 Botswana 3 0 0 3 2 9 −7 0 24 January 2012 17:00 UTC+1 Ghana 1 – 0 Botswana Stade de Franceville, Franceville Referee: Badara Diatta (Senegal) Mensah  25' Report 28 January 2012 20:00 UTC+1 Ghana 2 – 0 Mali Stade de Franceville, Franceville Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria) Gyan  63' A. Ayew  76' Report 1 February 2012 19:00 UTC+1 Ghana 1 – 1 Guinea Stade de Franceville, Franceville Referee: Daniel Bennett (South Africa) Badu  28' Report A. R. Camara  45+2' Quarter-final 5 February 2012 20:00 UTC+1 Ghana 2 – 1 Tunisia Stade de Franceville, Franceville Referee: Neant Alioum (Cameroon) Mensah  9' A. Ayew  100' Report Khelifa  41' Semi-final 8 February 2012 17:00 UTC+1 Zambia 1 – 0 Ghana Estadio de Bata, Bata Referee: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria) Mayuka  78' Report Third place play-off 11 February 2012 20:00 UTC+1 Mali 2 – 0 Ghana Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt) Diabaté  23', 80' Report Team honours Africa Cup of Nations Winners (4): 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982 Runners-up (4): 1968, 1970, 1992, 2010 West African Nations Cup Winners (5): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 All-African Games Bronze medals: 1978 Football at the All-Africa Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991 African Nations Championship Runners-up: 2009 Squad Current squad Match Date: 11 February 2012 Opposition: Mali Caps and goals correct as of: 11 February 2012 Note: The following 23-man squad were called-up to participate in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and also selected for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Third place play-off match against Mali on 11 February 2012. # Pos. Player Date of birth/Age Height (m) Caps Goals Club Goalkeepers 1 GK Daniel Adjei 10 November 1989 (1989-11-10) 1.86 4 0 Liberty Professionals 16 GK Adam Larsen Kwarasey 12 December 1987 (1987-12-12) 1.90 11 0 Strømsgodset 22 GK Ernest Sowah 31 March 1988 (1988-03-31) 1.80 0 0 Berekum Chelsea Defenders 2 DF Daniel Opare 18 October 1990 (1990-10-18) 1.73 7 0 Standard Liège 4 DF John Paintsil Vice(C) 15 June 1981 (1981-06-15) 1.78 80 0 Leicester City 5 DF John Mensah (C) 29 November 1982 (1982-11-29) 1.80 78 3 Lyon 7 DF Samuel Inkoom 1 June 1989 (1989-06-01) 1.79 35 1 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 9 DF Derek Boateng 2 May 1983 (1983-05-02) 1.83 34 1 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 14 DF Masahudu Alhassan 1 December 1992 (1992-12-01) 1.76 7 0 Genoa ⇄ Genoa Primavera 15 DF Isaac Vorsah 21 June 1988 (1988-06-21) 1.96 33 1 Hoffenheim 17 DF Lee Addy 7 July 1990 (1990-07-07) 1.78 25 0 Dalian Aerbin 18 DF Jonathan 13 July 1990 (1990-07-13) 1.88 17 1 Evian Thonon Gaillard 21 DF John Boye 23 April 1987 (1987-04-23) 1.85 9 0 Rennes Midfielders 6 MF Anthony Annan 21 July 1986 (1986-07-21) 1.71 55 1 Vitesse (loan-Schalke 04) 8 MF Badu 2 December 1990 (1990-12-02) 1.69 31 4 Udinese 11 MF Sulley Muntari 3rd(C) 27 August 1984 (1984-08-27) 1.79 72 17 AC Milan (loan-Internazionale) 19 MF Charles Takyi 12 November 1984 (1984-11-12) 1.76 3 0 St. Pauli 20 MF Kwadwo Asamoah 9 December 1988 (1988-12-09) 1.75 40 1 Udinese 23 MF Mohammed Abu 14 November 1991 (1991-11-14) 1.83 4 0 Eintracht Frankfurt Forwards 3 FW Asamoah Gyan 22 November 1985 (1985-11-22) 1.80 59 28 Al-Ain (loan-Sunderland) 10 FW André Ayew 4th(C) 17 December 1989 (1989-12-17) 1.76 40 4 Olympique de Marseille 12 FW Prince Tagoe 9 November 1986 (1986-11-09) 1.88 36 6 Bursaspor 13 FW Jordan Ayew 11 September 1991 (1991-09-11) 1.82 7 0 Olympique de Marseille Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up to the Ghana squad within the last 12 months. Retired Players are not listed. # Name Date of Birth (Age) Height (m) Caps Goals Club Last Call-Up Goalkeepers N/A Richard Kingson 13 June 1978 (1978-06-13) 1.83 90 1 Unattached v. Brazil (5 September 2011) Defenders N/A David Addy 21 February 1990 (1990-02-21) 1.80 6 0 Panetolikos (loan-FC Porto) v. South Korea (7 June 2011) N/A Yaw Frimpong 4 December 1986 (1986-12-04) 1.67 0 0 Asante Kotoko v. Nigeria (11 October 2011) N/A Sumaila Rashid 10 May 1991 (1991-05-10) 1.89 0 0 Ebusua Dwarfs v. Gabon (15 November 2011) Midfielders N/A Bennard Yao 21 March 1985 (1985-03-21) 1.88 7 0 Dijon FCO v. England (29 March 2011) N/A Michael Essien 3 December 1982 (1982-12-03) 1.78 52 9 Chelsea v. South Korea (7 June 2011)INJ N/A Agyemang Opoku 7 June 1989 (1989-06-07) 1.74 10 0 Al-Sadd v. South Korea (7 June 2011)INJ N/A Mohammed Rabiu 31 December 1989 (1989-12-31) 1.88 0 0 Evian Thonon Gaillard v. Brazil (5 September 2011) N/A Prince Buaben 23 April 1988 (1988-04-23) 1.78 2 0 Watford v. Nigeria (9 August 2011) N/A Albert Adomah 13 December 1987 (1987-12-13) 1.85 2 0 Bristol City v. Nigeria (11 October 2011) Forwards N/A Emmanuel Clottey 30 August 1987 (1987-08-30) 1.78 3 0 Berekum Chelsea v. South Korea (7 June 2011) N/A Nathaniel Asamoah 22 February 1990 (1990-02-22) 1.80 0 0 Red Star Belgrade v. Swaziland (2 September 2011) N/A Derek Asamoah 1 May 1981 (1981-05-01) 1.70 4 1 Pohang Steelers v. Gabon (15 November 2011) N/A Dominic Adiyiah 29 November 1989 (1989-11-29) 1.72 16 2 Arsenal Kyiv (loan-AC Milan) v. Gabon (15 November 2011) N/A Quincy 15 April 1986 (1986-04-15) 1.80 18 2 Panathinaikos (loan-Al-Sadd) v. Gabon (15 November 2011) N/A Emmanuel Baffour 2 April 1990 (1990-04-02) 1.82 0 0 New Edubiase United v. Gabon (15 November 2011) N/A Jeffrey Schlupp 23 December 1992 (1992-12-23) 1.81 1 0 Leicester City v. Gabon (15 November 2011) Notes INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. WD Player withdrew from the squad due to personal reason. Top goalscorers # Player Goals Caps Career 1 Abedi Pele 33 67 1982–1998 2 Tony Yeboah 29 59 1985–1997 3 Asamoah Gyan◘ 28 59 2003– ◘ denotes a player still playing or available for selection. Last updated: Ghana - Mali (2012 Africa Cup of Nations), 11 February 2012. Technical staff Position Staff Head coach N/A Assistant coach Akwasi Appiah Goalkeepers' coach Edward Ansah Defenders' coach N/A Midfielders' coach N/A Forwards' coach N/A Psychologist Dr. Yao Mfodwo Physiotherapist Charles Botchway Fitness coach N/A Team Doctor Dr. Percy Annan 2nd Team Doctor Dr. Allan Akaba Welfare Officer Opoku Afriyie Protocol Officer Alex Asante Spokesman Randy Abbey Kit Manager Sherif Bobo Musah Last updated: February 2012 Source: Ghana Football Association official website Head coaches Date appointed Manager name 2012–present Akwasi Appiah (interim) 2011–2012 Goran Stevanović 2010–2011 Akwasi Appiah (interim) 2008–2010 Milovan Rajevac 2008 Sellas Tetteh (interim) 2006–2008 Claude Le Roy 2004–2006 Ratomir Dujković 2004 Sam Arday (interim) 2004 Mariano Barreto 2003 Ralf Zumdick 2003 Burkhard Ziese 2002 Emmanuel Akwasi Afranie 2002 Milan Živadinović 2001–2002 Fred Osam-Duodu Date appointed Manager name 2001 Cecil Jones Attuquayefio 2000 Fred Osam-Duodu 1999–2000 Giuseppe Dossena 1997–1998 Rinus Israël 1996–1997 Sam Arday 1996 Ismael Kurtz 1995 Petre Gavrilla 1994 E.J. Aggrey-Fynn 1993–1994 Jørgen E. Larsen 1993 Fred Osam-Duodu 1992–1993 Otto Pfister 1990–1992 Burkhard Ziese 1988–1989 Fred Osam-Duodu 1986–1987 Rudi Gutendorf Date appointed Manager name 1984 Herbert Addo 1984 Emmanuel Akwasi Afranie 1982–1983 C. K. Gyamfi^ 1978–1981 Fred Osam-Duodu^ 1977–1978 O. C. Sampaio 1974–1975 Karl Weigang 1973–1974 Nicolae Nicuşor Dumitru 1968–1970 Karl Heinz Marotzke 1967 Carlos Alberto Parreira 1963 – 1965 C. K. Gyamfi^ 1963 József Ember 1959–1962 Adreas Sjolberg 1958–1959 George Ainsley Notes ^ Won African Cup of Nations during tenure. Competitive Statistics FIFA World Cup Record FIFA World Cup Record GP W D L GF GA GD World Cup Finals 9 4 2 3 9 10 −1 World Cup Quals (H) 30 20 8 2 57 17 +40 World Cup Quals (A) 29 7 8 14 31 38 −7 World Cup Total 68 31 18 19 97 65 +32 African Cup of Nations Record Nations Cup Record GP W D L GF GA GD Nations Cup Finals 72 40 14 18 97 61 +36 Nations Cup Quals (H) 31 22 6 3 69 23 +46 Nations Cup Quals (A) 31 11 8 12 42 31 +11 Nations Cup Total 134 73 28 33 208 115 +93 Nations Cup Record by team Ghana versus GP W D L GF GA GD Mali 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 Botswana 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 Côte d'Ivoire 8 5 1 2 17 11 +6 Tunisia 7 6 1 0 12 5 +7 Congo DR 5 3 0 2 8 5 +3 Nigeria 8 3 2 3 7 7 0 Senegal 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 Congo 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 Guinea 5 3 2 0 6 3 +3 Zambia 4 2 0 2 3 3 0 Algeria 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 South Africa 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 Egypt 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 Morocco 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 Sudan 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 Burkina Faso 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 Cameroon 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 Libya 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 Togo 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 Ethiopia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 Uganda 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 Malawi 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 Mozambique 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 Namibia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 Zimbabwe 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 Total 72 40 14 18 97 61 +36 West African Nations Cup [SCSA Zone III] Record Year Venue Round Position GP W D L GF GA GD 1982 Benin Final Winner 5 3 2 0 14 8 +6 1983 Côte d'Ivoire Final Winner 4 3 1 0 7 2 +5 1984 Burkina Faso Final Winner 5 2 3 0 9 5 +4 1986 Ghana Final Winner 6 5 1 0 12 2 +10 1987 Liberia Final Winner 5 5 0 0 14 2 +12 Total 5/5 5 Finals 5 Championships 25 18 7 0 56 19 +37 The Tournament was not held in 1985. Kits Kit evolution 1990–1999 1950–1989 2000–present Jersey gallery 1980s 1980s Away 1990s 2006–2007 2008–2010 2008–2010 Away 2010–2011 2010–2011 Away 2012–2013 2012–2013 Away See also Ghana national under-23 football team Ghana national under-20 football team Ghana national under-17 football team Ghana women's national football team References External links Ghana Football Association official site Looking back at Ghana's World Cup 2006 at View Ghana Ghana List of International Matches at RSSSF Titles Preceded by 1962 Ethiopia African Champions 1963 (First title) 1965 (Second title) Succeeded by 1968 Congo DR Preceded by 1976 Morocco African Champions 1978 (Third title) Succeeded by 1980 Nigeria Preceded by 1980 Nigeria African Champions 1982 (Fourth title) Succeeded by 1984 Cameroon Preceded by Inaugural Champions West African Champions 1982 (First title) 1983 (Second title) 1984 (Third title) 1986 (Fourth title) 1987 (Fifth title) Succeeded by Defunct