Kudus, Salisu and Others: Five Black Stars players who never played under Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Queiroz’s brief spell as Black Stars head coach ended without the Portuguese manager getting the opportunity to work with some of Ghana’s notable players. The 73-year-old took charge of Ghana in April 2026 and left the position in October after a difficult run that included the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the opening games of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. However, five players who have been important to the Black Stars in recent years never made an appearance under the experienced coach. Mohammed Kudus Kudus was arguably the biggest absentee from Queiroz’s team. The Tottenham Hotspur forward missed Ghana’s entire World Cup campaign after suffering a serious quad injury that kept him out for seven months. He was eventually named in Queiroz’s September squad after returning to action for Tottenham, but opted out of the AFCON qualifiers to continue his recovery and regain full fitness. Mohammed Salisu Salisu was another major defensive absentee. The Monaco defender missed the World Cup through injury and never recovered in time to feature for Queiroz before the coach's departure. Joseph Paintsil Paintsil also never played under Queiroz. The LA Galaxy winger was not included in the coach’s World Cup plans and subsequently missed the tournament, bringing the Queiroz era to an end without him getting a chance. Tariq Lamptey Lamptey had previously been a part of Ghana’s squad during the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, but he did not feature under Queiroz. His last appearances for Ghana came in 2024, while he was only a non-playing member of the squad for the September 2025 qualifiers. André Ayew André Ayew completes the list, although his situation was different from the others. The former Black Stars captain had already fallen out of the national-team picture during Otto Addo’s tenure and had not been a regular part of the squad for some time. Still, there was debate over whether his experience could prove useful to a team going into a World Cup, particularly given his long history with Ghana. Queiroz ultimately did not call him up. Ayew was left out of the Portuguese coach’s final 26-man World Cup squad and never featured before Queiroz departed. FKA/AMSource: www.ghanaweb.com
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