Former Black Stars player Augustine Arhinful has urged the Ghana Football Association and handlers of Black Stars to tackle friendly matches with all seriousness having failed to secure qualification to 2025 African Cup of Nations.
Arhinful who had 45 caps for the Ghanaian national team, believes with that it gives Ghana a better rating especially when Ghana perform well in those matches.
His reaction comes on the back of Ghana suffering a 2-0 defeat to Japan in the 2025 Kirin Challenge Cup on Friday. Coach Otto Addo’s squad missed six key players including Jordan Ayew, Thomas Partey, Joseph Paintsil, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Alexander Djiku and Kudus Mohammed, hence Black Stars defeat.
“We [Ghana] should have spoken to our good players. Because if the likes of Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus and Jordan Ayew were in this team, I don’t think we would have lost this game [against Japan].
So let’s look at these matches as our AFCON, and then try to, in the future, put some prominence to these matches [Friendly tournaments],” he told 3Sports.
Otto Addo’s side will next face South Korea in a second game on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at the Toyota Stadium in Aichi, Japan. This Cup according to Black Stars technical handlers forms part of 2026 FIFA World Cup preparation.
Arhinful who had 45 caps for the Ghanaian national team, believes with that it gives Ghana a better rating especially when Ghana perform well in those matches.
His reaction comes on the back of Ghana suffering a 2-0 defeat to Japan in the 2025 Kirin Challenge Cup on Friday. Coach Otto Addo’s squad missed six key players including Jordan Ayew, Thomas Partey, Joseph Paintsil, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Alexander Djiku and Kudus Mohammed, hence Black Stars defeat.
“We [Ghana] should have spoken to our good players. Because if the likes of Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus and Jordan Ayew were in this team, I don’t think we would have lost this game [against Japan].
So let’s look at these matches as our AFCON, and then try to, in the future, put some prominence to these matches [Friendly tournaments],” he told 3Sports.
Otto Addo’s side will next face South Korea in a second game on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at the Toyota Stadium in Aichi, Japan. This Cup according to Black Stars technical handlers forms part of 2026 FIFA World Cup preparation.
