Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz has explained his decision to call up Derrick Luckassen as a replacement for the injured Alexander Djiku ahead of the 2026 World Cup tournament in North America.
The Pafos FC defender earned a late call-up to replace Djiku, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to an injury setback.
Despite earning a late invite, the Dutch-born Ghanaian centre-back has made the Black Stars final squad for the tournament.
Speaking in an interview, the former Real Madrid coach rued the absence of Djiku while backing Luckassen to step in and deliver at the global showpiece, which kick-starts next week.
“It’s one of those moments we don’t like. Djiku got injured during the Cup Final. It was a very difficult decision. We’ll miss him — he’s a great guy, a great professional. I didn’t work with him directly, but I spent hours watching videos and speaking with people around him”
“But that’s football. We have to move forward and show full trust in the players we have. The replacement was based on observation. We don’t work with just 11 or 22 players. You can win games with 22, but to be champions you need a full squad ready. When we knew about the injury, we went to our list. Luckassen was ready. I know he’ll be committed, dedicated, and will perform fantastically for the national team”
Ghana are set for their fifth World Cup appearance, after booking a place for the expanded tournament to be co-hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The West African football heavyweights are paired in Group L against European giants England, 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia, and Panama. Ghana will open their account against Panama before taking on England and Croatia respectively.
The Black Stars will face Wales in an international friendly on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, with the former Real Madrid gaffer expected to use the game to fine-tune his squad ahead of the tournament.
Ghana has previously competed in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022, with their best performance coming in 2010 when they reached the quarterfinals.
