Former Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has opened up on how the Black Stars approached the Uruguay’s clash at the 2022 World Cup following the teams exit from the mundial.
The Black Stars were eliminated after the first round of the tournament following a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay.
After defeating South Korea in their second group game, the Black Stars needed a draw or win against Uruguay to advance to the last 16 stage.
But the team failed to negotiate for points against their ‘enemies’ Uruguay.
Ghana made a strong start to the game, but fell apart after captain Andre Ayew missed a penalty in the 21st minute, a repeat of what happened in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In an interview, the Great Olympics star asserted the approach of the team was wrong from the blast of the whistle till the end of the much-anticipated game.
“From the onset, I realized the team was not prepared for the Uruguay’s game. I saw some tiredness in the team and I don’t know if the mindset of revenge affected the team. Truth be told, I wasn’t happy with the body language of the team”
“I didn’t see the kind of play from the start of the game. The team wasn’t so ready for the game especially when Andre Ayew missed the penalty’
“After our game against Switzerland, Ghanaians started following the team but unfortunately the luck wasn’t there because when you miss a penalty in such crucial games and mentality if the boys are not ready it affects the team. From the onset of the game, I think everything was wrong”
The Black Stars will now shift attention to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers set to begin in earnest.
The four-time African champions sit top of Group D with four points from the first two games of the qualifiers.