Black Stars defender Gideon Mensah has shared Ghana’s ambitions ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the team’s immediate priority is to successfully progress beyond the group stage before thinking about a deeper run in the competition.
The Ghana national football team will be making their fifth appearance at the World Cup and are hoping to improve on their disappointing campaign at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where they exited at the group stage.
Ghana have been drawn in a challenging Group L alongside England national football team, Croatia national football team and Panama national football team.
Despite the difficult opposition awaiting the Black Stars, Mensah believes the team must approach the tournament step by step rather than placing unnecessary pressure on themselves with unrealistic expectations too early.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, the defender explained that Ghana’s first objective should be to improve on their last World Cup showing by reaching the knockout stages.
“It’s very clear, we are hoping to do better than our last World Cup [Qatar 2022 World Cup] which is to go out of the group stage and then we take it from there.”
Mensah acknowledged that every nation dreams of winning the World Cup, but stressed the importance of focusing on immediate goals before thinking about lifting the trophy.
“We can aim to go to the finals and to win the World Cup but then you need to start from somewhere.”
“So if we are going to look back to the last World Cup then I think we have to also focus on getting out of the group stage and then from there we can look into what will happen.”
The comments reflect a calm and realistic mindset within the Ghana camp as preparations intensify for the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The Black Stars have already opened their pre-World Cup training camp in Cardiff, where head coach Carlos Queiroz continues to assess his squad ahead of naming the final 26-man team for the tournament.
As part of their preparations, Ghana are expected to face Wales national football team in an international friendly on June 2 before departing for North America.
Ghana will begin their World Cup campaign against Panama at BMO Field on June 17 before taking on England at Gillette Stadium on June 23.
Their final group-stage fixture will come against Croatia at Lincoln Financial Field on June 27 in what could prove decisive in determining qualification to the knockout phase.
Having reached the quarterfinals in 2010 — the best performance by an African nation at the World Cup alongside Cameroon, Senegal, and Morocco — Ghana will once again hope to make a strong impression on football’s biggest stage.
For Gideon Mensah and his teammates, however, the message remains simple: focus on the group stage first, then dream bigger afterwards.
