After a disappointing run of international friendly matches, Hearts of Oak Legend, Amankwa Mireku, has taken a critical stance on some of the players within the Ghanaian national team, the Black Stars, whom he labeled as ‘useless.’
In an interview on Happy FM, Mireku questioned the common perception that the coach should bear the brunt of the blame for a team’s underperformance. He argued, “I have never agreed that it’s always the coach who needs to be blamed whenever a team isn’t performing well. Some players sometimes make the work of the coach very difficult; they add nothing to the team, which affects the general performance of the team. There are certain players in the Black Stars who add nothing to the team; they are a shadow of themselves whenever they don the Ghana shirt, and in the long run, the coach will be blamed.”
Mireku’s comments come on the heels of the Black Stars’ recent international friendly matches where they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Mexico at the Bank of America Stadium and a disheartening 4-0 loss to the United States of America (USA) at the Geodis Stadium in Nashville. These losses left the team without any goals scored while conceding six in total.
The performances have raised concerns about the contributions of certain players in the national squad, prompting Mireku to criticize their ineffectiveness on the field.
Looking ahead, the Black Stars are now preparing for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers scheduled for November. The team is set to face Madagascar on November 13 and Comoros on November 21 in crucial matches to determine their World Cup fate. After the qualifiers, Ghana will shift its focus to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be held in Ivory Coast next year, where they aim to make amends and demonstrate their capabilities on the continental stage.
