Ghana’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations have suffered a major setback, with former international Laryea Kingston saying the Black Stars will need a “miracle” to reach the tournament.
The four-time African champions sit bottom of Group C without a point after losing their opening two qualifying matches.
Ghana started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat by Ivory Coast in Bouake. They then surrendered a two-goal advantage in a 4-2 loss to The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Those results have left Ghana facing a difficult route to the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The poor start also resulted in the departure of head coach Carlos Queiroz. An interim technical team has been put in place to take charge of Ghana’s next two qualifiers against Somalia in November.
Kingston, who is currently head coach of Uganda’s junior national teams, believes the Black Stars’ position in the group has made qualification extremely difficult.
“Looking at the situation now, it will be a miracle for us to qualify,” he told 3Sports.
“Two teams have six points; it means Ghana will have to win all games. For me, it will be very difficult, and it will take a miracle to turn things around,” he added.
Ghana will attempt to revive their campaign when they face Somalia, knowing they must improve their results to keep their hopes of reaching the 2027 tournament alive.
The interim technical team consists of Kim Lars Bjorkegren, Ibrahim Tanko and Godwin Attram. Former Ghana goalkeeper Fatawu Dauda has been appointed as goalkeeper coach.
That group will remain responsible for the team until the Ghana Football Association and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation appoint a new head coach in November.
Ghana’s two early defeats have left them with little room for further setbacks in Group C. They will need a significant improvement in results to regain control of their bid to qualify for the continental tournament.