Ghana midfielder Salis Abdul Samed reflects on Black Stars AFCON 2025 qualification failure

Ghana international Salis Abdul Samed says the Black Stars managed the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification poorly.

For the first time in 20 years, the four-time African champions will not be competing in the prestigious continental tournament after finishing last in Group F. Ghana’s qualification campaign ended with three draws and three losses from six matches.

The midfielder, who now plies his trade for FC Nantes in the French Ligue 1 missed the AFCON qualifiers due to an injury setbacks.

Reflecting on the Ghana’s qualification failure, the former RC Lens star asserted the Black Stars managed the qualifiers poorly.

“I won’t say that we were rubbish, but the team was under construction,” said the former RC Lens midfielder. There were lots of young players coming in, and the team was changing all the time. The manager is now creating his group and we are feeling a bit better. Unfortunately, we managed our matches poorly.” he said as quoted by Getfootballnews.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament will be held in Morocco from between December 2025 and January 2026.

Despite their qualification setback, the Black Stars are now focused on securing qualification to the 2026 World Cup tournament.