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A photo reflection of the Black Stars in 2017
Pulse Sports recaps the highs and lows of the Black Stars in 2017, using pictures.
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2017 may have started with so much optimism but it certainly did not end in the best of fashions.
Ghana began the year with hopes of clinching a first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy since 1982.
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However, with just days to the end of the year, that dream looks long vanished, with Ghana once again ending up empty-handed.
2017 started with the AFCON being hosted in Gabon. With Ghana paired in group D together with Egypt, Uganda and Mali, the nation was expected to go far.
And the team did not disappoint in the first two games; beating both Uganda and Mali by a goal to nil.
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However, things started to turn for the worse in the last group game against Egypt as the Black Stars fell to a 1-0 loss.
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The quarter-final game against Congo was tough, but a goal apiece from the Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, saw Ghana clinch yet another semi-final berth at the tournament.
The end of the road, though, was nigh and that curse resurfaced as the Black Stars failed to get past Cameroon in the semi-final stage after losing 2-0 to the Indomitable Lions.
The country subsequently finished fourth in the tournament after being beaten in the 3rd/4th place game by Burkina Faso.
The aftermath was not the best: players were criticised, management members catechized and then Ghana coach Avram Grant lost his job.
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In May, though, a new era began with Kwesi Appiah being reappointed as Black Stars coach. The 57-year-old was tasked to salvage the team’s faltering World Cup hopes and to qualify for the 2019 AFCON.
Appiah started his work on a high note, dispatching Ethiopia 5-0 on his first game since returning as Ghana coach.
However, subsequent results have been mixed and inconsistent at best. Ghana failed to beat Congo Brazzaville in Kumasi when it mattered most in the World Cup qualifiers, drawing 1-1 on home soil.
But the reverse fixture brought renewed hope, with the Black Stars romping Congo 5-1 in Brazzaville thanks to a Thomas Partey hat-trick and a Boakye-Yiadom brace.
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The last World Cup qualifier against Egypt in Tamale, though, would end on a bad note with the Black Stars drawing 1-1 with the already qualified Pharaohs.
On the flip side, too, the ‘local’ Black Stars made the nation proud by lifting the WAFU Cup after beating Nigeria 4-1 in the final.
That is 2017 for the Black Stars in retrospect!
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