Black Stars assistant coach Roger De Sa has pointed to the relentless travel across multiple host cities as one of the toughest obstacles Ghana had to overcome during their 2026 FIFA World Cup adventure in the United States.
Although the tournament earned widespread praise for its organisation and atmosphere, De Sa believes the constant movement between venues and changing time zones placed a significant physical burden on players throughout the competition.
Ghana opened their Group G campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto before making the journey to Boston for a high-profile clash against England. The Black Stars then travelled again to Philadelphia, where they wrapped up the group stage with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia.
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The West Africans advanced to the Round of 32 but saw their World Cup dream come to an end in Kansas City following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia.
Looking back on the tournament, De Sa described the World Cup as an exceptional experience and applauded the quality of the event, while stressing that the demanding travel schedule was the biggest hurdle his side encountered.
“You know World Cups are always special; you go to one or two of them, and they always get better, you know,” De Sa told 947’s MSW. “I thought it was a fantastic tournament, very well organised. Great stadiums, great hotels, everything has been good. Good crowds, the stadiums are full.”
“If there was one difficulty, I think it was the travel. The cities were quite distant sometimes, in different time zones. So, that does have an effect on all the teams. The travel is a bit taxing on the players.”
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With their World Cup campaign now behind them, Ghana’s attention turns to qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The Black Stars will begin their qualifying journey in September, having been drawn in Group C alongside Ivory Coast, Somalia and Gambia as they aim to book a place at the continental finals.
