We can’t judge Black Stars with Japan and South Korea friendlies – Sam Johnson

Former Ghana international and Hearts of Oak legend Sam Johnson has highlighted the circumstances surrounding the Black Stars back-to-back defeats in the Kirin Challenge Cup.

The West Africa football powerhouse succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Japan last Thursday, followed by a narrow loss to South Korea at the Seoul World Cup Stadium early Tuesday.

Despite the defeats, the former Ghana defender insists the Black Stars team cannot be judged, citing the availability of several key players.

“Some of the players in there are not the key players we want to take to the World Cup so that alone should change the perception because we don’t have our set, that is also a factor.”

“It’s the first time for some players. Most of them are not known. Truth be told, I don’t even know where some of the players ply their trade, but they are Ghanaians and we have to allow them to play. Let’s see what happens in the other friendly games and then we can judge” he told Citi Sports in an interview.

Meanwhile, Sam Johnson has expressed concern over Ghana’s winless Asian tour, warning that the team’s back-to-back defeats could hurt the country’s FIFA ranking.

“The only problem that I have is that our rankings will go down. More you lose, more you go down that is the only problem”

Ghana will now turn attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the Black Stars set to discover their group opponents on December 5.