DOUALA, Cameroon – Ghana has confirmed the dismissal of coach Milovan Rajevac after their shock early exit from the African Cup of Nations finals and must now move quickly to find a new coach for the World Cup playoffs in two months’ time.
Rajevac had been expected to be sacked after Ghana lost 3-2 to the tiny Comoros Islands last week to finish bottom of their opening round group and depart the tournament in Cameroon early, despite being among the fancied teams.
His sacking was demanded by Ghana’s sports ministry the day after the defeat but only confirmed on Thursday, after a meeting of the Ghana Football Association’s executive the previous day.
“After considering three reports and engagements with key stakeholders, the GFA has decided to end its relationship with coach Milovan Rajevac,” a statement said according to Reuters.
“The GFA will soon announce the reconstituted technical team and management committee after due engagement with all relevant stakeholders.”
The 68-year-old Rajevac had only been back in the post for four months, in his second stint in charge of the Black Stars.
He was rehired in September after Ghana made a poor start to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers but recovered to win their group and qualify for the March playoffs, where they will take on Nigeria.
Rajevac was coach when Ghana reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2010, before going on to national team jobs in Algeria, Qatar and Thailand.
The Serbian is the first managerial casualty of the Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.
Four-time champions Ghana were eliminated from the AFCON 2021 after crashing 3-2 to minnows Comoros in Group C in Garoua.
“I came to Ghana to qualify the team for the World Cup. That is my primary target. I will stay and lead the team in the March play-offs,” Rajevac said after the match.
The Black Stars had captain Andre Ayew sent off after 25 minutes and, after wiping out a two-goal deficit, lost when Comoros’ Ahmed Mogni scored his second goal five minutes from time.
The Comoros who had not scored a single point before the match were theoretically out of the competition before the kickoff. The Southern-African representatives lost the first two matches respectively to Gabon (1-0) and Morocco (2-0).
The four-time African champions (Ghana) are one of the greatest powers in world football. Despite having won the AFCON in four editions, Ghana is the team with the most finals lost in the competition (five). The Ghanaian national team lost the finals of 1968, 1970, 1992, 2010 and 2015.
Despite their lack of experience in front of the four-time champions Ghana, Comoros did not give enough time to breathe to their opponents. A quick counter-attacking move eventually led to the early goal from captain El-Fardou Mohamed (4′).
Ghana’s nightmare was just beginning! A serious foul by captain Ayew on Comoros goalkeeper Boina Ben earned him a red card at the 23rd minute. Ayew was trying to take advantage of a rebound and ended up injuring the goalkeeper, who had to be replaced in the 24th minute by his colleague Ahamada Nadhoim.
The Comoros’ second goal came in the 61st minute through Ahmed Mogni, who broke through four defenders and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Dramatic moments followed at the Roumde Adjia Stadium. Ghana was levelled through Richmond Yiadom (63′) and defender Alaxander Djiku (76′). The goals revived the game and the Comoros took the lead again with the third goal scored by Ahmed Mogni (86′).
