Ghana qualified for the 2026 World Cup after beating Comoros 1-0 on Sunday in Accra.

The Black Stars finished top of Group I in the African zone. This will be their fifth appearance at the World Cup, after 2006, 2010 (quarter-finalists), 2014, and 2022. They join four other African teams who have already qualified: Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt.

This success is a breath of fresh air for the Ghanaians, who have been struggling on the continental scene in recent months.

They were indeed mediocre during the African Cup of Nations (CAN) at the start of 2024, eliminated in the group stage, which condemned their former coach, the Irishman Chris Hughton, replaced by Otto Addo.

And things didn't get any better after that, with Alexander Djiku and his teammates finishing last in their qualifying group for the next African Cup of Nations, and with a disastrous record of zero wins, three draws, and three defeats. Coach Otto Addo was therefore more in the hot seat than ever.

In line with recent months, Ghana had an extremely poor first half in which they did not create any chances, despite the fervent support of their fans.

Comoros were the only team to beat the Black Stars in World Cup qualifying, in the first leg in November 2023 (1-0), but they were unable to take advantage of the current weakness of the Ghanaians.

They opened the scoring with their first and only opportunity, just after the break, a goal almost given away by the Comorian defense after several misunderstandings: Tottenham striker Mohamed Kudus took a close-range cross from Thomas Partey to score the only goal of the match (1-0, 47th).

The rest of the game was, like the first half, very disappointing: although Ghana monopolized the ball, they did not create any other chances.