Wednesday Jun 03, 2026. 12:00
Ghana will be appearing at their fifth FIFA World Cup, and second in succession. The Black Stars, who will face Panama, England and Croatia in Group L, put up their best World Cup showing in 2010 when they reached the quarterfinals – matching the best-ever African performance at the time.
Now coached by Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, Ghana secured qualification under his predecessor, Otto Addo, by comfortably finishing top of Group I in the African preliminaries, ahead of Madagascar, Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic and Chad.
Captained by Jordan Ayew, the Black Stars’ key players include goalkeeper Lawrence Air-Zigi, defender Alexander Djiku, midfield veteran Thomas Partey, wingers Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo, and Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams.
Nickname: The Black Stars
Previous World Cup appearances: 4 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2022)
Best World Cup performance: Quarterfinals (2010)
World Cup record: P15 W5 D3 L7 GF18 GA23
2026 Qualification record: P10 W8 D1 L1 GF23 GA6
2026 World Cup fixtures (Group L, times CAT)
– Ghana v Panama, Thursday 18 June, 01:00
– England v Ghana, Tuesday 23 June, 22:00
– Croatia v Ghana, Saturday 27 June, 23:00
Head coach: Carlos Queiroz
Veteran Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz was appointed as the Black Stars coach in April, succeeding Otto Addo after the Ghana Football Association lost faith in the latter. The 73-year-old is hugely experienced and has a great CV (including spells in charge of Portugal, South Africa, Real Madrid, Iran and more), but he will be under immediate pressure to try and steer Ghana through a tough Group I.
Captain: Jordan Ayew
With well over 100 caps under his belt, Jordan Ayew has been a faithful and reliable servant to the Black Stars in a senior international career which spans more than 15 years. The versatile forward will be appearing at his third World Cup (after 2014 and 2022) and would love to lead Ghana to the latter stages of the tournament.
Key player: Antoine Semenyo
After an outstanding season for Bournemouth and Manchester City (who he joined in January of this year), winger Antoine Semenyo will head to the World Cup hoping to further establish his reputation as one of African football’s most exciting players. A skilful but powerful player, Semenyo’s keen eye for goal will be vital to Ghana’s hopes.