Agyemang Badu’s World Cup warning: Semenyo can inspire Black Stars but can’t carry team alone
Antoine Semenyo’s explosive rise to the summit of English football may have handed Ghana a genuine World Cup weapon, but former Black Stars midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has fired a timely warning against turning the national team into a one-man operation ahead of next month’s global showdown in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
At a time when concerns continue to grow over the fitness of playmaker Mohammed Kudus, public attention has increasingly shifted towards Semenyo as Ghana’s potential saviour after a breathtaking season that elevated him into Europe’s elite attacking class.
However, the former Ghana international believes Semenyo’s brilliance should inspire the Black Stars, not define the team. He insists that path looks slippery and could end in disaster, as FIFA World Cup games are not won by hype or individual stardom alone.
“An anchor of the team, yes. But building the team solely around one person, I don’t buy that idea,” Agyemang Badu warned during a media interaction at Nsawam Prison last Thursday on the sidelines of the Prisons Football Project by former Ghana FA chief, Kwesi Nyantakyi.
“What happens if he gets injured? Then your team is messed up.”
Soaring reputation
The caution by the retired midfielder, a veteran of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, comes at the height of Semenyo’s soaring reputation. The 26-year-old forward completed a reported £64 million move from AFC Bournemouth to Manchester City in January, becoming the most expensive Ghanaian footballer in history after signing a five-and-a-half-year deal with Pep Guardiola’s side.
Semenyo’s impact was immediate and devastating. He scored more than 20 goals across all competitions, including 17 English Premier League strikes — the third-highest tally in the division — spread across spells with Bournemouth and Manchester City. He also finished the season with silverware, helping Pep Guardiola’s side lift both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, although City narrowly lost the league title race to Arsenal FC.
Yet while Semenyo conquered English football this season, his international output remains underwhelming. Since making his Black Stars debut against Madagascar in June 2022, he has scored just three goals in 34 appearances — a statistic that continues to fuel debate over whether his explosive club form can truly translate onto the international stage.
That contrasting form has intensified debate, with some suggesting that Ghna’s Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz must build his attacking structure around Semenyo’s pace, power and attacking instincts.
Agyemang Badu told the Daily Graphic that Ghana’s World Cup ambitions would be better served by building a strong, balanced squad with genuine depth on the bench, warning that over-reliance on one player was a dangerous gamble that could easily backfire.
“It’s good to have quality everywhere,” he stressed. “It’s good to have a solid bench.”
“My problem is not about the starting players. I prefer a bench where, when you turn and look, you see powerful players there, and the coach is not panicked and can do whatever he wants.”
The former Udinese Calcio midfielder believes Ghana must learn from elite tournament-winning nations, where team depth often decides matches long after the starting XI has faded physically.
Ghana’s Poster boy Nonetheless, Agyemang Badu made it clear that Semenyo remained central to Ghana’s attacking ambitions. “Yes, he’s our poster boy,” admitted the 35-year-old.
“From his former club to Man City, he’s worked under great coaches and been given the freedom to express himself, and that’s how we need to use him.”
Agyemang Badu’s words carry institutional authority inside Ghana football, having made 73 appearances for the Black Stars, scoring 10 international goals and representing Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
He also occupies a permanent place in Ghanaian football folklore after scoring the decisive penalty against Brazil to secure the nation’s historic FIFA U-20 World Cup triumph in 2009.
The retired players believes Semenyo’s greatest strengths lie not merely in goals, but in his intelligence, physical dominance and ability to destabilise defenders in transition.
“He needs space so he can progress the ball well because he uses both feet, is very strong on the ball and is a very intelligent player,” Agyemang Badu explained.
For a player whose career took him from Asante Kotoko SC to elite leagues in Italy, Spain, Turkey and China, Agyemang Badu understands the pressures of international football better than most.
But perhaps most significantly, he urged Ghanaians to remove the crushing burden of expectation from the country’s newest superstar.
“So for now, you rely on him, but without pressure,” he said. “We don’t want to pressure him. He should come home, enjoy his football and help us qualify from the group.”
