Black Stars lack a cohesive team despite abundance of talent – Daniel Opare

Former Ghana international Daniel Opare insists the Black Stars lack a cohesive team despite abundance of talent within the squad.

The West African football heavyweights are gearing up for their fifth World Cup tournament, after securing one of Africa’s nine automatic slots for the global showpiece.

Ghana are paired in Group L alongside football powerhouses England, Croatia, and Panama at the biggest soccer mundial.

Speaking in an interview with JoySports, the former Black Stars full-back and U-20 World Cup winner acknowledged the quality at the disposal of the national team but stressed that individual brilliance alone is not enough to guarantee success on the international stage.

“We have incredible talent in the team—fantastic players—but I believe we need to focus on building a proper team. Sometimes you can have talent without having a team. I won’t go into too much detail, but one key thing is that we must keep these players together for a long time. Of course, changes can be made in cases like injuries, where others who deserve the opportunity can step in.

But if we keep changing players the way we change our clothes, it won’t help. Every time that happens, we break the team instead of building cohesion. We need to maintain the core, support and encourage them, and give them time to grow together. That’s the only way we can truly build a strong team.”

The Black Stars will open their campaign against Panama on June 17, before facing England on June 23, and wrapping up their group matches against Croatia on June 27.

The 35-year-old, who called it a quit in 2025 made 19 appearances for the Black Stars.