Former Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng believes the Black Stars’ lack of team spirit played a decisive role in their exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ghana’s campaign came to an end on Saturday after a 1-0 defeat by Colombia in the Round of 32 at Kansas City Stadium.
Jhon Arias scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute to send Colombia into the last 16, where they will face Switzerland.
Speaking to SBS Sport after the game, Boateng said Ghana’s failure was rooted in a lack of unity rather than a shortage of talent.
He argued that building a strong team spirit had been made more difficult by the late appointment of head coach Carlos Queiroz, who took charge only weeks before the tournament.
“It’s missing the team spirit, and I said that before the tournament. If Ghana builds that team spirit, which is difficult, because the coach came in just a month before. But you need to build that team spirit,” he said.
Boateng compared the current squad with the Ghana side that reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the Black Stars came within a penalty shootout of becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals.
“We had team spirit in 2010. In 2014, we didn’t have team spirit. That’s why we went home. It’s all about the spirit,” he added.
The former AC Milan and Schalke midfielder also pointed to the performances of emerging football nations, saying unity had become a key factor in success at major international tournaments.
“If you see Cabo Verde, Curacao, all these small nations, they survive, and they threaten the big nations. Why? Because they have team spirit. Morocco, team spirit. That’s what it’s about, especially in a tournament in a short time,” Boateng said.
Ghana reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time since 2010 after progressing from Group L, but their hopes of extending their campaign ended with defeat to Colombia in the first knockout round.
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