Ghana loses Kudus ahead of 2027 Africa Cup qualifying opener

The squad list was already finalized, Mohammed Kudus included, when everything changed. The Tottenham forward had returned to action after seven months out with injury, and his name was among the 24 called up by Carlos Queiroz for the start of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. But just days before the opener, Kudus decided to withdraw.

Queiroz himself explained at a press conference on Monday at the Accra Sports Stadium that the decision was made to avoid risking the player's recovery. "We are not the clubs' coaches, we can't control their decisions," said the Portuguese coach, making clear the situation was handled together with the player himself and was not imposed on him.

It seemed like Kudus was heading in the right direction. But afterward, after playing 70-something minutes, the news wasn't progressing the way we expected. In my last conversation with Kudus, we understood that the best decision was to protect his recovery process. He could risk a setback, and nobody wants that.Carlos Queiroz

Kudus isn't the only physical headache for Queiroz. The coach himself acknowledged that injuries and a lack of match sharpness had narrowed his options right before the qualifying match: "Some are playing very well. Others don't have minutes in their legs, they're not in the shape we expect. By the time we published the list, we had 10 potential players outside my options."

That's why the Ghana Football Association had to add nine new names at the last minute, citing "medical uncertainties" surrounding several players. In came defenders Jonas Adjetey, Alidu Seidu, Ebenezer Annan and Rockson Yeboah, midfielder Rahim Ibrahim, and forwards Brandon Thomas-Asante, Mohammed Fuseini, Benjamin Tetteh and Felix Afena-Gyan.

A tough puzzle to solve

For Queiroz, this kind of constant turnover makes it hard to build any sort of stable team: "You can't change 7, 8, 10 players every time the national team plays and expect to be successful. We have to find a way to build the team around a core group of players. Availability, commitment and responsibility are the key words for success."

The coach's concern makes plenty of sense given the recent history: Ghana failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup in Morocco, its first absence since 2004, after finishing last in its qualifying group without winning a single match. A four-time African champion missing out entirely.

Now the Black Stars have been drawn into Group C alongside Ivory Coast, Gambia and Somalia, with the top two spots earning direct tickets to the 2027 final tournament, to be held in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The opener, this Thursday in Bouake against Ivory Coast, revives one of West African soccer's longest-running rivalries: the Ivorians beat Ghana on penalties in the 2015 Africa Cup final, and the two sides' most recent meeting ended 0-0 in a friendly played in Cape Coast in June 2021.

There's news on the other side too: Ivory Coast, three-time continental champion, is entering a new cycle under Herve Renard's second stint in charge, who called up eight new faces for these qualifiers.

Queiroz, in any case, insists on looking beyond qualification itself. "Our path right now is to have our hands on the present, we have to qualify for African competitions, but at the same time we have our eyes on the future," he said. "Step by step we have to plant the seeds to build a strong team, capable of qualifying for and competing at the World Cup."

After the opener in Ivory Coast, the Black Stars will return home to host Gambia on September 29 at the Accra Sports Stadium, in the second matchday of Group C.