Ghana international Gideon Mensah has called for a step-by-step approach at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, urging the team to first focus on progressing beyond the group stage before setting bigger targets.
The Black Stars are set for their fifth World Cup appearances after securing one of Africa’s slots for the tournament, to be co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico next month.
Ghana are paired in Group L against European giants, England, 2018 World Cup finalists, Croatia and Panama. The Black Stars will open their account against Panama before taking on England and Croatia respectively.
“We are hoping that we do better than our last World Cup, which is to go out of the group stage and then we take it from there.
I mean we can aim to go to the finals and to win the World Cup, but then it needs to start from somewhere. So, if we are to go to the last World Cup, then I think we have to also focus on getting out of the group stage and then from there we can look into what will happen.” He said.
Ghana have begun preparations in Cardiff ahead of their pre-World Cup friendly against Wales, slated for June 2, with head coach Carlos Queiroz overseeing training sessions at Dragon Park.
The Black Stars are expected to spend a week training in Cardiff before taking on Wales, after which the team will travel to the United States for the next phase of preparations.
Queiroz is expected to use the training period and friendly matches to evaluate his squad before naming Ghana’s final 26-man squad for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Ghana has previously competed in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022, with their best performance coming in 2010 when they reached the quarterfinals.