With 100 days until Ghana’s opening game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, former Ghana international Mohammed Polo has delivered a blunt verdict on the Ghana Premier League (GPL), arguing that only one locally based player currently meets the standard required for the tournament.
Speaking to 3Sports, Polo singled out Hearts of Oak goalkeeper Benjamin Asare as the sole GPL player he would back for a place in coach Otto Addo’s final squad. Every other local player, in his assessment, falls short of what the global stage demands.
Asare became the Black Stars’ first-choice goalkeeper after making his debut in March 2025 and featured in all of Ghana’s World Cup qualifying matches. The 26-year-old has since recorded nine clean sheets in 12 GPL appearances this season, yet his readiness for the World Cup remains a subject of debate, with former Asante Kotoko board member Alhaji Ali Maradona recently questioning whether he is truly at the level the Black Stars require.
Polo’s view cuts against a growing campaign by Hearts of Oak for maximum local representation. The club’s head coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani and communications director Kwame Opare Addo have both publicly called for Asare and backup goalkeeper Solomon Agbetsi to be included in Ghana’s final World Cup squad.
The debate over local player inclusion has history behind it. Polo previously described the inclusion of home-based players in Black Stars squads as “just a formality,” saying coaches rarely feature such players and that the selections are made without genuine intent to use them in competitive matches.
Ghana’s situation has been complicated further by injury setbacks. Defender Mohammed Salisu will miss the tournament entirely after sustaining a serious anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to his left knee while playing for AS Monaco in Ligue 1 earlier in 2026.
The Black Stars have been drawn into Group L alongside Panama, England, and Croatia, with their opening match against Panama scheduled for June 17 in Toronto. Otto Addo is expected to announce his final squad on June 1.
