Black Challenge head coach Richard Obeng believes Ghana can still reach the knockout stage of the 2026 Amputee Football World Cup despite opening their Group D campaign with a 2-0 defeat by 2018 champions Angola.
Ghana had hoped to begin the tournament with another positive result against Angola after previously beating the Southern African side at the AFCON. But the Black Challenge faced a stronger test this time and were unable to repeat that success.
Angola took control before half-time when they converted a well-executed free-kick. The 2018 world champions then extended their lead after the break to claim all three points.
The defeat leaves Ghana needing positive results from their remaining Group D fixtures against Colombia and Iraq if they are to progress to the next stage.
Obeng accepted that the performance had not produced the result his team wanted, but said the squad would focus on correcting its mistakes rather than placing responsibility on individuals.
“This result wasn’t what we were expecting, but this is football. We’re not going to put the blame on anybody. The weather wasn’t favourable as well, but that’s also not an excuse,” he said.
The Black Challenge coach urged Ghanaians to remain confident ahead of the team’s next two matches.
“What we’re going to tell Ghanaians is that we’re coming back stronger in our next games against Colombia and Iraq. We’re going to correct whatever mistakes we made in this game against Angola,” Obeng added.
Ghana’s next Group D match is against Colombia on Saturday, November 15. A positive result will be important to their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
