Ghana international Joseph Paintsil has urged Ghanaians to put behind them the Black Stars 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers and rally their support behind the team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

After their bottom-placed finish in the qualification games, Ghana failed to qualify for the AFCON for the first time in 20 years.

The Black Stars picked up just three points from six games in a group which had Angola, Sudan and Niger with all coming at home.

Speaking on the sidelines of his U-15 football tournament, Paintsil called for Ghanaians to get behind the team.

"This is football. Now all the nations are really good; it's not like 10 years ago that you will meet another team that you will confident of beating convincingly," he said.

"We are in a difficult situation now where everyone is playing in Europe...the more you think, the more they surprise us. As you can see, we were surprised by a lot of teams but it happens.

"We just ask Ghanaians to support us no matter what...all they need to do is to help us, pray for us and support us in this upcoming qualification for the World Cup."

The Black Stars resume 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March 2025 with games against Chad and Madagascar on the cards.