Roger De Sa: Injuries to Kudus and key players affected Ghana’s World Cup performance

Kudus, alongside Mohammed Salisu, Alexander Djiku and Abu Francis, missed out on Ghana’s final 26-man squad for the tournament after suffering various injury setbacks ahead of the competition.

Reflecting on the team’s campaign, the South African coach, who joined the technical team before the World Cup, explained that losing several established players created major challenges for the Black Stars.

Speaking to Flashscore, De Sa said the absence of key members of the squad, particularly in defence, affected Ghana’s preparations and selection process.

“We had lost four regular players, including both centre-backs, a winger from Tottenham Hotspur (Mohammed Kudus) and a midfielder,” he said.

“The absence of the centre-backs was particularly concerning because it meant using younger, less experienced players.”

De Sa also admitted that limited playing time for some potential squad members at club level made player selection difficult before the tournament.

“Some of the players we were considering were also not getting regular game time at their clubs, so the selection process was challenging,” he added.

“You could travel to another city to watch a player, take your seat in the stadium and then find that he was on the bench.”

Ghana began their World Cup campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Panama before securing a hard-fought goalless draw against England. The Black Stars ended the group stage with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia.

Their journey came to an end in the Round of 32 after suffering a 1-0 loss to Colombia.

With the World Cup now concluded, Ghana is set to welcome back several key players, including Kudus, Salisu and Djiku, as the team turns attention to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Black Stars have been drawn in Group C alongside Gambia, Ivory Coast and Somalia, with qualifying matches scheduled to begin in September.

Source:Fiilasports/ghanasoccernet