Former Ghana winger Quincy Owusu-Abeyie believes the Black Stars are capable of making a strong impact at the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, expressing confidence that the team will deliver when the tournament kicks off later this year.
The expanded World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will feature 48 national teams for the first time in history. Ghana secured one of Africa’s nine automatic qualification slots and will be hoping to make their presence felt on the global stage.
The Black Stars have been drawn in Group L, where they will battle England, Croatia, and Panama for a place in the knockout stages.
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Ghana’s campaign will begin with a clash against Panama before a highly anticipated meeting with European powerhouse England. The group phase will conclude with a potentially decisive encounter against Croatia.
Despite the tough draw, Owusu-Abeyie remains optimistic about the team’s prospects.
“Don’t worry, the Black Stars will perform at the 2026 World Cup” he told Adom FM’s Nana Osei Ampofo Adjei in the Netherlands.
The 2026 tournament will mark Ghana’s fifth appearance at the World Cup, following previous participations in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022. Their most memorable run came in 2010 in South Africa, when the Black Stars advanced to the quarterfinals, the closest any African side has come to reaching the semifinals of the competition.
As preparations intensify ahead of the tournament in June, the Ghana Football Association has lined up several high-profile international friendlies to help fine-tune the squad.
The Black Stars begin their preparation schedule on March 27 with a friendly against Austria at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna. They will then travel to Germany three days later to face the German national team at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart.
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In May, head coach Otto Addo will lead the side into another warm-up fixture against Mexico, before rounding off preparations with a historic first-ever meeting against Wales on June 2, 2026, at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Owusu-Abeyie, now 39, represented Ghana at senior level between 2008 and 2011, earning 18 caps and scoring two goals during his time with the national team.
