Former Black Stars player Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has called on coach Otto Addo to consider including locally-based players in Ghana's remaining 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Agyemang-Badu believes that Ghanaians would be more accepting of local players' potential losses than continuing with a squad that is failing to deliver.
He criticized the current Black Stars team for their lack of cohesion, aggressiveness, and effective play.
“There is no cohesion, no aggressiveness, and the passing is slow. It seems like the team is playing without any real stakes or commitment. Normally, it’s hard for me to critique players given my background, but it’s evident that changes are needed,” Agyemang-Badu said on Asempa FM.
He added, “We would plead with the coach to give local players a chance. Even if they don’t perform well, I believe Ghanaians would accept that more readily than seeing the supposed strongest team fail.”
The Black Stars have yet to secure a win in their AFCON qualifying campaign, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Angola in Kumasi and drawing 1-1 against Niger in Morocco.
Angola leads Group F with 6 points, followed by Sudan with 3, while Ghana and Niger each have 1 point at the bottom of the group.
