News Focus
- Canadian immigration officials deny Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey entry for the opening match against Panama in Toronto
- Tottenham Hotspur winger Mohammed Kudus misses the entire tournament due to injury, weakening the squad’s attack
- The Ghanaian government abandons a $10,000-per-person plan to fly supporters from Accra, switching to mobilise diaspora communities in North America
- Carlos Queiroz became the fifth coach in five years when he took charge just one month before the tournament began
Ghana’s national football team enters the 2026 World Cup amid significant instability. The West African nation, which dominated the continent between the 1960s and early 1980s with four Africa Cup of Nations titles, has struggled to replicate that success on the global stage. They reached their first World Cup only in 2006 and achieved a memorable quarter-final place in 2010, but have won no major trophies since 1982.
The past two decades have brought particular frustration. Between 2006 and 2017, the Black Stars reached eight consecutive Afcon semi-finals without lifting the cup. “The journey has involved long periods of disappointment,” says respected journalist Gary Al-Smith. “We saw a surge during that era, but the record is pockmarked with highlights and no silverware. There has been nothing to celebrate.”
Managerial chaos has undermined any search for consistency. The team has employed five different coaches in the past five years. Charles Akonnor, Milovan Rajevac, Chris Hughton and Otto Addo (who served twice) all held the post before Carlos Queiroz assumed control only one month before the World Cup kicked off. Al-Smith argues that such frequent changes destroy team rhythm. “Squads need continuity to grow,” he explains. “When coaches change, their philosophies must match to maintain progress. In Ghana’s case, the chopping and changing has brought different methods and confused player selection. It has denied us the continuity we required.”
Fresh problems emerged this week. Canadian authorities refused to allow midfielder Thomas Partey into the country for Wednesday’s opener against Panama. The decision relates to ongoing legal allegations against the player. Ghana’s sports minister, Kofi Adams, strongly condemned the move as an unfair overreaction that ignores the presumption of innocence. Officials submitted an appeal on Tuesday night, but authorities rejected it.
The squad also misses influential attacker Mohammed Kudus. The Tottenham Hotspur star withdrew from the tournament because of injury, leaving the team without two of its most important figures.
The government has also abandoned ambitious plans to transport thousands of supporters from Ghana to North America. President John Dramani Mahama initially promised to fund travel for fans to the United States, Mexico and Canada. However, the cost proved prohibitive. Sending one person would require approximately $10,000 (£7,450), an impossible sum for a nation battling severe economic difficulties.
Instead, officials now plan to engage Ghanaian communities already living in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Toronto. Al-Smith reports that the president shifted strategy after concluding the original plan offered poor value for money. However, with the tournament already underway, diaspora fans have reportedly not yet received promised tickets from embassies in Washington and Ottawa.
Ghana now faces an uphill battle in Group F. Matches against England and Croatia await, and the side will need passionate support to overcome these formidable opponents without their key players.