Celebrations as Ghana's Black Stars return home

Ghana's players and staff arrived home early on Wednesday to rapturous welcome after becoming the first African nation to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

They were met at the airport with bottles of champagne to celebrate their qualification over arch-rivals Nigeria.

President Nana Akufo Addo congratulated coach Otto Addo in a phone call for the "perfect birthday gift".

He joked that Ghana would kidnap coach Otto Addo who was only tasked to qualify the team for the World Cup and return to his home country Germany.

Earlier street jubilations erupted across Ghana at the end of the match played in Abuja.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: CNN