Ex-Ghana captain Stephen Appiah backs senior team despite Kirin Cup flop

Former Ghana captain, Stephen Appiah has reacted positively to the Black Stars’ two international friendly matches against Japan and South Korea.

Ghana faced the two Asian countries in the 2025 Kirin Cup, losing both in a space of four days. The four time African champions lost by 2-0 to Japan in the opener at the Toyota Stadium before succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to South Korea at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the final fixture.

Stephen Appiah, who skippered Ghana to its debut World Cup in Germany 2006 and the second in South Africa 2010, has given rave reviews about the team’s performance despite losing the two games.

Ghana failed to score a goal in two games

“I’m so happy with the performance of the guys especially in the second game against South Korea. Against Japan the second half they played well [and] against South Korea they played better,” Appiah told Kobe Boujee.

“We went there for results but at times it’s not only about the results but about the performance. You watch certain games and you see teams losing but you see the fans applauding them that means they gave everything.

“That’s what our guys did and I am also happy that some of the guys had the chance to show themselves because they have been in camp for so many months and they have been getting call ups but they don’t get the chance to play so platforms like these will give them the chance to show themselves.

The former Hearts of Oak, Parma, Brescia, Udinese and Juventus midfielder currently holds the position of Vice Chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee, bringing his playing experience to help the senior national team.

He previously played for Turkey powerhouse Fenerbahce, Bologna, Cesena and Vojvodina of Serbia at the twilight of his career.

Ghana qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after topping Group I with 25 points, making it a fifth appearance after the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022 editions in Germany, South Africa, Brazil and Qatar.

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