The 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, has been drawn favourably for Ghana in their bid to qualify.
The qualifiers are set to start in November 2023, and the draw took place following the 45th Ordinary CAF General Assembly in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The opponent is Mali. The Black Stars were drawn against Mali, a team attempting to qualify for their first World Cup, despite the fact that they might have been matched up against tougher opponents like Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, or Nigeria because they were placed in Pot 2.
Madagascar, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, and Chad are also included in the group. Ghana are familiar with Madagascar and the Central African Republic, having played them in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Black Stars will also be seeking revenge against Comoros, who defeated them 3-2 in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon last year.
Ghana has a strong World Cup pedigree, having qualified for four of the last five tournaments.
However, their performance in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was disappointing as they failed to advance past the group stage, losing to Portugal and Uruguay while defeating South Korea.
Black Stars will be determined to secure qualification for the 2026 tournament and aim to impress Ghanaians as they did in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals in South Africa.