If there were fears that the Black Stars would labour to beat Madagascar in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, those fears were easily dispelled with Monday’s 3-0 win: Thomas Partey (2) and Mohammed Kudus being the scorers.
Whether the fears were grounded in the first place is debatable. For a senior national team of Black Stars make, failing to win a single game in six AFCON qualifiers, and thus missing the next AFCON later this year in Morocco, fans who were slowly losing faith in the team, maybe, could not be faulted.
Now in two 2026 World Cup qualifiers however, coach Otto Addo and his team have nicely redeemed themselves, whitewashing Chad 5-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium last Friday before emplaning to Morocco to thrash the so-called tough Malagasy side 3-0.
Except for the Black Stars’ underperformance in recent competitive games either at home or away, which deflated the confidence of some Ghanaians fans, how could Madagascar, suddenly become a hard nut to crack by Ghana?
With the latest wins, we have consolidated our position in Group I. Otto Addo and the players deserve commendation for their dedication to duty which in no small has given us desired result. This is what Ghanaians want. This is what we want to see of the team.
It is worth praising Otto Addo and the players and all who contributed to giving us something to cheer about in the past few days. The 2026 World Cup dream is on, and, talking about dreams, Benjamin Asare, our safest pair of hands now must be relishing the dreamlike experience of being the country’s number one goalkeeper.
From local side, Accra Hearts of Oak straight to the Black Stars post, beating off stern competition from Jojo Wollacott and Ati Zigi, Asare is where he is purely on merit. It is important to acknowledge that and applaud the technical team for showing that they have an eye on players in the domestic league.
It is a testament to what we may get when due attention is paid to the players back home. The Black Stars are course to make a fifth FIFA World Cup appearance and all who have a role toward that ambition must keep their foot firmly on the accelerator.