The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has entered discussions with Jamaica over a potential international friendly match, as new Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz seeks an additional fixture to assess his squad before the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway.
The talks with Jamaica come at Queiroz’s request for a third preparatory game beyond the schedule already in place. Ghana were set to conclude their warm-up programme against Wales on June 2 at Cardiff City Stadium, but the new head coach has indicated he needs more competitive time to properly evaluate the players available to him before making his final decisions ahead of the tournament.
Ghana’s preparation run has been marked by difficulty. The Black Stars lost back-to-back friendlies against Austria and Germany under former head coach Otto Addo, results that ultimately cost Addo his position. Over the weekend, Ghana suffered a 2-0 defeat to Mexico at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, a match handled by assistant coach Desmond Ofei as Queiroz’s appointment was being formalised.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For Queiroz, the case for a Jamaica fixture is straightforward: the experienced coach, who has led Portugal and Iran at previous World Cups, has inherited a squad mid-cycle and needs competitive matchplay to identify his preferred combinations before the group stage begins.
The GFA is working to finalise arrangements for the Jamaica game, which would give Queiroz at least one full match in charge of the Black Stars before Ghana’s opening World Cup fixture.
