West Ham United’s Manager Julen Lopetegui has pointed to the recent performance of the Black Stars as the possible cause of “frustration” for midfielder Mohammed Kudus.
Kudus captained the Black Stars in their two recent games.
In the doubleheader against Sudan in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, the Black Stars drew goalless at home and lost 2-0 to the Falcons of Jediane. Kudus apologised for the disappointment to Ghanaian fans.
Resuming the international break, Kudus joined the Hammers as they travelled to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.
Despite scoring the opener in the five-goal thriller, the Ghanaian lost his cool in the dying embers of the game as he got red-carded by referee Andy Madley after a melee with Micky van der Ven.
The English FA, to boot, charged Kudus as well as the two clubs for the incident.
Addressing the issue in a West Ham United pre-match press conference, Julen Lopetegui said the frustration could have emanated from the international outing.
“I think that he brings his frustration with his national team too, because they lost and drew their matches and that was bad,” the Spanish football coach said.
He, however, urged Kudus to use the situation to prove his critics wrong.
“It can never be one excuse to lose your balance, your head. I think that you have to use this frustration to do better and to work more, to have more spirit, to be able to overcome bad moments but not to do this kind of behaviour because in this case you are working against you. He knows that.”
He admonished the former Ajax man to work on his temperament in moments like these and learn not to repeat them.
“He has to improve his temperament because this can’t happen. I am sure this will be the last time it happens. The only way to handle frustration is to focus on the match because these kind of behaviours ruin the match.”
West Ham United will welcome Manchester United to the London Stadium in an English Premier League Matchday 9 game on Sunday, October 27.
