Former Ghana international and Hearts of Oak legend Sam Johnson has called for measured judgment of the Black Stars following their back-to-back defeats in the Kirin Challenge Cup, stressing that the team was without several key players.

Ghana fell 2-0 to Japan last Friday before suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to South Korea at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Tuesday. Despite the winless tour, Johnson insists the results should not define the team’s readiness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“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,” he told Citi Sports. “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.”

Johnson emphasized that friendly matches are meant for experimentation and squad building, and urged fans to wait for future fixtures before drawing conclusions.

However, he expressed concern about the potential impact of the defeats on Ghana’s FIFA ranking.

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

Ghana will now shift focus to the 2026 World Cup, set to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Black Stars will discover their group-stage opponents when the official draw takes place on December 5, 2025.