Badou Zaki, head coach of the Niger national team, has voiced his concerns over the recent decline in form of the Black Stars.
The four-time African champions have experienced a challenging start to their AFCON 2025 qualifiers, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Angola at home and then drawing 1-1 with Niger in Morocco.
The Black Stars have struggled to make an impact on the international stage, winning only two of their last ten matches this year.
Zaki, reflecting on Ghana’s performance, remarked, “The Black Stars is big and known as the Brazilians of Africa because the team is very heavy when you check the players. You have Seidu, Lamptey, Partey and many players who perform in the major leagues in Europe but I think something is happening. You don’t feel like the Black Stars we know before,” Zaki told Ghanasportspage.com.
He continued, “We saw Ghana at the AFCON in Abidjan but it wasn’t good. They have big players, big team and players with good performance. “We watched Ghana at the World Cup 2010 and they almost qualified for the semi-finals. There is mass different between that team and the current team. They are not strong in attack and defence”
“They concede many goals. They conceded three goals against Central African Republic at home which is not normal. They concede goals every time,” said the Moroccan trainer.
Zaki’s comments underscore the growing concerns about the Black Stars’ ability to compete at their historically high levels. Ghana next face Sudan in the 2025 AFCON qualifier next month.
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