Ghana defender Gideon Mensah has called on the Black Stars to at minimum escape the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying the starting point for any bigger ambition must be correcting the early exits that have defined Ghana’s recent World Cup campaigns.
Speaking to ghanafa.org from the team’s Cardiff training base at Dragon Park, Mensah framed the group stage exit as a non-negotiable foundation. Ghana failed to advance past the group at both the 2014 and 2022 World Cups, and the AJ Auxerre defender said the squad carries a clear awareness of that record going into the tournament.
“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,” he said.
He was careful not to dampen broader ambitions, acknowledging that dreaming of the final is natural, but insisted that practical goal-setting must come first. He said a team cannot credibly speak of winning a World Cup if it cannot first clear the group stage, and that the collective focus in Cardiff is on managing those expectations sensibly without abandoning the desire to progress as far as possible.
Ghana are placed in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama, a demanding draw that will test the team’s ability to perform against higher-ranked opposition. The Black Stars open against Panama on June 17 at BMO Field in Toronto before facing England in Boston on June 23 and concluding the group phase against Croatia in Philadelphia on June 27.
Head coach Carlos Queiroz is leading preparation sessions at Dragon Park with 28 players currently in camp, before a cut to 26 is made to meet tournament requirements. The final squad will be announced on June 1. The Wales friendly on June 2 at Cardiff City Stadium remains the last confirmed preparatory fixture before the tournament, though the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is exploring a third warm-up game against Jamaica.
Ghana will base their World Cup campaign at Bryant University in Boston.
