Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 will be without one of its biggest and brightest talent pools after continental giants and four-time AFCON winners Ghana failed to qualify for the winter tournament.
With that notwithstanding, Ghana shockingly ended the qualifying round - sitting bottom of Group F without a single win in six qualifying fixtures. Subsequently, Ghana failed to qualify.
It is the first time since the West African giants have missed out on the tournament in nearly two decades, while also recently struggling in 2021 and 2023 when they failed to see their way out of the group stage.
Kwesi Appiah - a former Black Stars gaffer and now the head coach of Sudan, recently led the Falcons of Jediane to book a spot in next year’s tournament in Morocco.
However, he has expressed his disappointment about Ghana's failure to qualify for the 2025 Afcon tournament, describing it as 'unfortunate'.
“From the beginning, I said only two teams will qualify, and it was just unfortunate that Ghana was not able to go,” Appiah told Ghanasportspage.com.
“But sometimes things happen that you learn from, and you make sure it doesn’t repeat itself again. That’s life and that’s football. If certain things don’t go well, you sit down and think about how to make it better," he remarked.
The qualification of the Falcons of Jediane is their first since 2012, as they made a return to the continental showpiece for a nation that last won the Afcon in 1970 when they hosted the tournament, with Ghana finishing as runners-up.
By: Pascal Amoah
